


Genealogy

by vilnolin



Series: Infected [2]
Category: Dark Angel, Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-11
Updated: 2011-04-24
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:03:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 47,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vilnolin/pseuds/vilnolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Manticore's best soldiers just became Umbrella's greatest experiment.  Oh, and people aren't staying dead either. It's kind of a problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Species-ism, gore, violence in excess, ~~people who might not stay dead~~ , crossover  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel. All original characters belong to me, all rights reserved and all lefts reversed. Resident Evil/BioHazard isn't mine either, but oh how I like to play...  
> rewrite/revised 10.10.2012  
> 

                  Christmas Eve, 2021 was not a day anyone liked to remember. It was a day that brought about—finally—the humans accepting the transgenics and their muddled genetics  But Christmas Eve had been the cosmic joke ending nobody had been waiting for. It was the day the Cult of Familiars were supposed to perform their little doomsday ritual and bring about some comet that heralded the plague that would leave only Familiars alive if they had their inbred, psychotic way.  
                Apparently, their gods were out of town celebrating, because the plague was a bust. On top of it all, the Cult in their  _infinite_ wisdom had decided to stage their highly disturbing ritual in the center of town. Instead of dancing among dying human corpses, most of the practicing Cult members were arrested for indecent exposure, mass assembly without permit, suspicion of cult activities, and carrying around giant fucking snakes.  Sounding awesome, right?   
                Wrong. Maybe the Cult’s prophets and numbers were on to something, because that very same day, a supposedly abandoned research facility in Pennsylvania lost containment of another unknown pathogen. The reports to make it out of the area claimed something about it killing people in droves.  And then it started spreading…with only ten percent of humanity having a natural immunity.  
                By New Years, the federal government was desperate for relief, for someone who was able to combat the new sickness, to help them police the afflicted areas, aiding survivors and keeping quarantine. Their caged Familiars couldn’t boast immunity, and their attempts to prove otherwise had only resulted in death.  Thus Max Guevara, X5-452, found herself signing an agreement for full citizenship for the transgenics, human-like and non ( _provided they lived in pre-approved areas and, of course, applied for inter-species marriage licenses on a case-by-case basis_ ). Max herself hadn’t added the last addendum, but the way Logan had given her the news, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who still had hopes.  
                But she didn’t even have time to worry about what Logan thought; she had been trying to find ways around the government’s so carefully hidden ‘strings’. More accurately, she was trying to convince most of the transgenics not to buy into the ‘housing, pay, and the work you were designed to do!’ propaganda.  Her own Second in Command had rushed out after those words. And after some of the words she had hurled at him rather publicly, ( _Killer! Murderer! Twisted Animal!_ ), more had followed.  
                It was April now, four months since Alec left, and a little over that for the initial outbreak, and Max had only heard from the major west coast media hubs; the entire east coast was dark and that scared her. That was where Alec was deployed.  
                Every day the cocky X5 male was gone, Max felt like a gaping wound was widening to life-threatening proportions. She hadn’t realized how much she cared about the damned loveable vagrant till he had left ( _blank faced, but she had been afraid to meet his eyes, afraid of what she might see_ ), but wasn’t there that damned cliché, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ or whatever?  
                Aside from missing him, it seemed that a majority of Terminal City had seen  _Alec_  as head of the fledgling nation; it was through sheer will power and some crash courses in military protocol with Mole (a necessary evil, she convinced herself, hating Project Manticore for making it even harder to be  _normal_ ) that maintained her control. Perhaps even scored some points too, as Mole didn’t grumble ‘niner’ around her anymore.  
                Which brought everything back to Max, at her desk in Terminal City, staring at the calendar that would forever be stuck on December; it’s not like anyone was making calendars a top priority. It made her lonely, somehow, thinking that this ridiculously campy calendar ( _bedecked with rather adorable kittens, Alec’s idea of a joke considering they were more feline then human_ ) was the last of an era; it didn’t matter that people were complaining about how everything was better before the Pulse.  There was a ninety percent survival rate then. Since Christmas Eve, the expected survival rate in America had dropped to forty and many suspected the true count was lower where the infection was rampant. The whole situation was so tense, and with the government pressuring her people into that hell hole, all she wanted was some  _sign_  that everything would be all right.  
                There was a dark shadow in her doorway, and Max started, eyes snapping up from her calendar to the door.  
                There, leaning against the door frame, was Alec. Max couldn’t help but stare, taking him in from his worn combat boots, to his faded black fatigue pants, past his many belts loaded with gear, his scuffed and well cared for weapons, up to dirty blonde hair sun-bleached nearly white, to skin freckled and darkly tanned from being outside too much, but setting off those cat-green eyes that she had been so afraid to look at, four months ago—  
                “You have some nerve!” Her tone was harsh, voice high and strained from lack of use. For his part, Alec just cocked an eyebrow, not looking the least put off by her tone. “It’s been  _months_!”  
                To her surprise, he broke into a full, genuine grin. “Aren’t you a breath of fresh air, Maxie. Nice to see you too. Glad to hear none of the humans you know are  _infected_.” He took a moment, eyes taking her in with a suggestive sweep that left her shivering. “Damn, you’re a sight for sore eyes. The girls in the unit just don’t have any ass.”  
                Max shifted uncomfortably, sputtering “Wha-I’m yelling at you!” She resisted the urge to punch him, even though he was already shrugging her off, eyes sweeping around the office.  
                The moment he asserted it was clear, he short her a look, dumping a rucksack that looked less like ‘Alec’ and more like ‘494’ on her desk, his booted feet following as soon as he slumped into her guest chair. “And  _I’ve_  been getting yelled at when the stakes are much higher and by people who are a lot scarier then you. You…you’re cute. Sorry.” He added, catching her face, “Besides, it’s not like I don’t know what’s been goin’ on here. Mole’s been keepin’ me updated, and—”  
                “ _Mole_  could get a hold of you?”  Oh, she was so killing that dinosaur when she saw him.  “And I’m not cute.” She added as an after thought.  
                Alec shrugged. “Figured you’d be preoccupied with Wheels.” Logan's insulting nickname cut her deeply, and Max stumbled to her feet, desperate for some sort of space, but Alec scoffed at her, saying “Come on. The guy’s in a wheel chair and you  _used me_  to make  _him_  let go. I’m allowed to feel bitter about both of you.” There was no mistaking the chill in his voice.  What was worse was that Max couldn’t even argue his logic; he had a right to be pissed after how she had used him. But he was also still speaking, and her brain fought to catch up, “—and he hasn’t always been the nicest to me, but if you need me to, I do promise to be a good boy ‘round ole’ ‘Eyes’.”  
                “What?”  
                Alec rolled his eyes. “Look, I’ve been behind enemy lines, pulling out civies for months. I’m bristling, and I’m sorry.” He offered her a sheepish smile. “It’s not like we have to watch our language out there.”  
                Max felt every defense she had set up against Alec in his long absence shatter. “So the rumors are true.” It was a gasp, a last hope that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t.  
                Alec’s face shut down. “And you’ve been campaigning to keep the only people immune out of the fight. I thought you wanted humanity to  _survive_ , Max, not exterminate it.” Before she could respond, Alec had already shifted his expression to something much more like himself, and his posture relaxed again. “To be honest, I’m here for recruits. The infection’s spreading, despite what the media is claiming. I need boots on the ground, pulling survivors out, containing the infection—” He stopped himself, biting his lip. “I just stopped by to say ‘hi’.” He managed that boyish grin of his.  The sheer audacity of what he was suggesting really raised questions on exactly who he thought was in charge of TC, but Max felt herself bristling for a completely different reason. 

                “You’re leaving again?” Her voice betrayed her, keeping barely a hint of her ire and pushing a wealth of sorrow that she had been adamantly denying to the forefront.  
                Alec nodded, his expression carefully neutral, “I’m their CO, Max; I can’t abandon them. You have no idea the amount of collateral damage we’ll get billed for if I’m not there to police their asses.” He tossed her an easy smile, his green eyes bright in his darkly tanned skin. “You might like the thrill of it, Maxie. You should give it a tour.”  
                She balked, she couldn’t help it. “I can’t do four months—I’ve got a nation to—”  
                The look he gave her was clearly annoyed; “Might have to question who’s running this nation as it is; Right now it seems to be an ideal, not so much a person.” His tone was even, but there was no mistaking his meaning. “And besides, a tour is six months.”  
                The change in him was drastic, and Max was more than a little disappointed that he wasn’t the ideal she had come up with while he had been gone. Not to mention, she was more than a little irked that he was so blatantly questioning her authority here—despite the fact she had faced those questions herself, and found that she had to hustle and struggle to keep power. “I…” frustration spoke for her, and she burst out, “I have no idea what you want from me.”  
                Alec actually snorted, shaking his head as he picked up his rucksack, hiking it back over one shoulder. “I want you to own up to what you are, Max. Be a soldier.”  
                “You mean a killer.” She couldn’t help it; the words slipped out.  
                Alec didn’t wince this time, not like he had before ( _not that she would think about it…_ ) he just looked away, taking a deep breath. “You know what we’re actually doing out there is classified.” He said, glancing back at her. “But you can’t be a killer if what you’re putting down is already dead.”  
                After that, he slipped out with barely a nod; she heard him call a passing ‘hey’ to someone in TC, who chirped back excitedly, but Max understood none of it. She was lost in her head, trying to wrap her head around the one tip Alec had let slip. Only after a second, did she realize he was heading  _away_ , she bolted from her desk, following him in haste down the hall.  
                Her head was buzzing, and when she caught up with him, she half resented the fact he was surrounded by well-wishers and friends—transhuman and X-series—and she could only half hear the words he was saying to them.

What she did know was that there was a definite look of surprise and something that could have passed for hope when she dared catch his eyes; it seemed desperately important that this time, she meet his eyes.  “I’m going.” The buzzing finally lifted, and she could hear, but she was shocked to realize that no one was saying a thing. “With you.” She clarified, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of Alec’s full gaze. “Out there.”  
                It had to have been temporary insanity, that had to be it. Especially when she saw him grin in that ‘oh, you’ve got to be kidding me’ grin, and felt her resolve flicker.  
                “Nice to have you on board, Max.”  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Three days later, Max found herself geared up and sitting in the front of a military jeep knowing  _exactly_  how Alec got so tan. The terrain as they left Seattle was normal (though the Sector Police treating them with respect was something new), but the second they passed into Wyoming, they hit a dry chill. Crops that had just sprouted were already wilting, and trees were dropping their leaves in a parody of autumn. It was like nature was sick…  
                The sun beat down on the jeep relentlessly, and Max shied away from the glare coming from one window, only to be put off by the multiple layers of clothing that made her so very uncomfortably hot.  “You get used to it.” Alec said, startling her. He offered her a small smile, glancing over the rims of his sunglasses as he risked his eyes from the road. “I mean, you can talk to some of the chicks at base, see how they cope, but trust me, you’re gonna want that protection.” His eyes shifted to her feet, and she instinctively shied her feet away.  
                “It’s bad enough you made me shoot the thing.” She nudged the .45 with her boot, causing Alec to make a scathing noise.  
                “Jesus, Max, it’s your  _weapon_. You’re supposed to treat it with  _respect_ , not…well, you didn’t throw it out the window, so I guess that's progress.” He glanced at her again, “But immunity or no, you do not want to get in hand to hand with these fucks. They feel pain…they just don’t care. And I think it’s worse.”  
                Begrudgingly, Max leaned forward to pick her pistol off the floor, holding it as lightly as she could. “Through that entire briefing, all I heard was a lot of government  _X-Files_  cover-up talk. All you said was that, once infected, the population became vicious, deranged and cannibalistic. You said in my office you can’t kill something that’s already dead. What the hell is actually going on?”  
                He stared straight ahead for a long time, watching the road that was remarkably (and freakishly) clear of traffic. They  _were_  heading to a hot zone, but the complete lack of civilians… “I’m not supposed to tell you till we reach base, Maxie.” There was a slightly teasing tone to his voice, but his entire body had tensed up.  
                “Then why are we riding by ourselves?” She had wondered at the breaking up of troops on the second day (after remedial military procedure and briefings), and why they were spread so thin, and to so many places.  
                Alec held his tongue for a long time, seemingly looking for a way to word it. “I wasn’t lying when I said I came here for recruits. We’re thin. I’m only taking you to my unit because  _I’m_  afraid we’re gonna lose our leader because you’re too afraid or stubborn—I’m not sure which yet—to use the gun issued to you. Honestly, we could use you at one of the other sites…I’m a little nervous having you work ground zero.”  
                Max felt her mouth go dry. “You’re still pulling survivors out of ground zero?”  
                “Not all humans are as stupid as we thought, apparently.” He ignored her glare, chuckling at some inside joke that she didn’t and probably would never know. “Plenty saw enough horror movies to know how to survive for a time, and now we’re getting them to safety. Next step is caravanning them back to civilization—”  
                “Back?”  
                Alec’s face deadened. “Think dust and sand. This virus wipes out everything.”  
                She took a moment to process that, and sighed, not liking the possibility. “And what we’re fighting?”  
                He tensed again. She could see his fingers whiten on the jeep’s steering wheel. “It’s down to virology, genetics and mutations. This virus was liquid in it’s original form, only infectious by injection. But the funny thing is, being designed as a possible bio-weapon, the virus is protean; it changes depending on it’s environment. Lost containment in a lab, it became airborne and infected the facility. What it does then is kills you—may seem anti-climatic, but trust me, it gets better. You got to think of a virus as a living, thriving organism that has wants. It killed them to move on to it’s fastest and longest running contagion: saliva and blood. Now we get some science in the monster virus.” He chuckled, “It reanimates dead tissue, to put it bluntly. The recently dead have a measurable electrical charge. This thing manages to jump start the body and brain, but only to the base needs. They attack anything.  The infection spreads so fast…”  He shook his head. “We have a ‘No Mercy’ policy, too, Max, I best tell you now. Once a civie is bit, no matter how ‘ok’ or ‘healthy’ they look, it’s a shot between the eyes and a burned corpse. This virus turns them into  _them_  in forty-eight hours. We don’t play around when we’re losing people.”  
                She fell into a long silence, half contemplating his words (distastefully), and half wondering how he still managed to not explain—exactly—what they were dealing with. What he was suggesting…well, that was just impossible…  
                It was another half a day before Max heard Alec speak again, saying “If you scope your eyes, you can just make out the barricade.” His voice was tense, and he had his sunglasses on again, but she leaned forward in her seat, telescoping her vision—  
                “Oh fuck!” Before she had time to register movement beyond the yellow police barricades, Alec was swerving, pulling the jeep straight across the road, ninety degrees from the way they had been facing. Max whipped her head around, struggling to look past Alec’s head when she caught the flash of what looked like a smaller version of Alec’s uniform and then heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire. Alec was already half way out of the truck, his bandana pulled over his nose and mouth and held his assault rifle in both hands before shouldering the door shut with a barely understandable “Stay put!”.  
                There was significantly more gunfire, and then an eerie quiet that scared her more then all the noise. The sudden bang of Alec’s fist against her window caused her to jump more then a little. “Damn, Max…it’s all clear…And you’re jumpy.”  
                She glared at him, when as second thud on the car caused her to actually  _screech_. Alec raised his eyebrows, and shared a look with the shadowy figure perched on the hood. “After that introduction to this place, who wouldn’t be?” Max was shocked to hear the voice was female. “Sorry for that; we had a runner. Attracted some dogs and who knows what else.” The woman moved closer to the windshield, and Max was finally able to get a good look at her; she was slightly paler then Max naturally, but tanned and freckled from the sun, with jet black, straight hair and shockingly amber eyes. Her uniform seemed to be lacking several key garments that Alec had insisted Max herself wore, but from the frustrated sigh and eye roll he had given the other, Max figured he had just as much success controlling her.  
                “We should get out of here.” Alec said, his eyes scanning the horizon. Max felt like the very air was watching them. “I’m surprised; honestly? A runner?”  
                “The ‘doting father’ that Felix pulled off his daughter the other day. Took a look in the mirror this morning and bolted.” The girl flashed a feral grin, revealing canines just a little too sharp. “I took care of the body.”  
                Alec must have caught the look on Max's face, because the next thing he was saying was, “Keegan, jeez, you sound like a maniac. At least introduce yourself before you start making outrageous claims and freak out the rookie.”  
                Keegan—with a roll of her bright eyes—hopped off the jeep and extended a hand, using her hip to knock Alec out of the way; amusing, especially since she was nearly a foot shorter than his six foot frame. “X5-105R: Keegan. I’m the resident sniper out here.” She flashed another grin. Max felt strange shaking her hand, but did, surprised at the grip, and how warm her palm was. When Max glanced down, Keegan hastily jerked her hand back, tugging her fingerless gloves awkwardly, and playing with the cloth wraps that she had up her forearms.  
                Alec cleared his throat. “You need to get back up on point; I hear mooing.” The two of them snickered to themselves, and Alec tapped the door twice, indicating he was shutting it on her. Max tried not to feel left out of the joke; she had only just gotten here anyway.  
                Keegan disappeared into the perpetual dust and gloom almost instantaneously, and Max gave up trying to follow her route back to the top of what looked to be a handmade tower erected just inside the barricade. Alec didn’t seem to worry for her, and just slid into the driver’s side, and locked the doors after he was in.  
                As soon as they were past the barricade, Max heard gunfire explode behind them. Alec reached out, placing a hand on her thigh and giving her a small, lip quirk that she thought was meant to be a smile. It was oddly reassuring. “She’s damn good, Max, don’t worry about her.” He gave her another small smile, and then glanced back at the road—only to slam on the brakes.   
                Max swallowed a scream when she saw what hit the windshield—it couldn’t have been alive to walk into the road into the first place! There was no flesh for it’s nose, no eye on one side and no jaw on the other.  Alec made a face, as the thing impossibly started to beat on the glass, still attempting to gain access to the car it had so stupidly walked in front of. “Fuckin’ zombies.” He shifted into reverse and slammed on the gas, throwing it off the hood, before carefully aiming the tires and slamming the car into second, forcing it to leap forward.   
                Max winced at the crunch as the skull was crushed under the jeep’s tires. “That was disgusting!”  
                “You destroy the head.” He said, keeping his tone just barely controlled; it sounded like he was excited for actually getting to run over a…dead body. “If you don’t…well…they’re more trouble later. Trust me, Maxie, you’ll get used to it.” He flashed her that damned boyish grin, and Max was starting to wonder if she was ever going to be immune to it; one of these days she was going to get herself into serious shit with her little ‘Alec Crush’, and that day was looking a hell of a lot closer.


	2. Chapter 2

                Max’s first night at base camp was not pleasant. For one of the few times in her relatively short life, she was exhausted, but every time she tried to close her eyes a strange…noise threatened to drive her from her bed and into the collective room where the rest of the X5s assigned to the base were.  
                She had been shocked (and rather disgusted) that the rest of the unit seemed to sleep in the same room when they weren’t on rounds; it had only been Alec’s reassurances that everyone had their own bunk, and ended up in the common room in one mass puppy-pile that she had taken her own bunk without heading for TC, her modesty screaming behind her. He had conveniently only said one thing on the  _why_  everyone was so…cuddly; “Have you heard the mooing?”  
                The mooing. Max was pretty sure it was some joke that all the new recruits (or maybe just her, since Alec did like to tease) had to go through. But, now that his words were replaying through her mind…the  _noise_  sorta did sound like…mooing… And it was certainly enough to keep her up for all of the scant three hours until her wake up. With a heavy sigh, she shoved herself off the military issue bunk and threw her BDUs over her under garments, heading to the main room that she had so adamantly avoided before. It was a small unit, maybe ten X5s and only four of them were present (part of her was sad that Alec was apparently not amongst the puppy-pile), but the ‘mooing’ was less here. However, her door’s slight creek caused two of the heads to whip up, and Max froze like a frightened deer. One of them dropped immediately, muttering something, but the other peered at her, eyes reflecting any light that happened to catch them.  
                “They get loud, don’t they.” The voice was one she heard earlier—the sniper, Keegan, the one with too-warm hands—and she was wrapped amid another X5’s arms, though Max couldn’t see his face. “You can bunk down here…I guess it sort of reminds us of back home. Easier to sleep.”   
                “Not with you talking.” The second voice—coming from roughly Keegan’s shoulder—sounded very much like Alec. Almost to the point that Max started that way, and then the speaker picked his head up; he was obviously from the same genealogy, but a different branch of the cloning line. “Kee, shut up. Noob, shut up. It’s sleepy time now, ok?” He made a grumbling noise, and Keegan muttered something back to him which he ignored, dropping his head back down and apparently falling back asleep.  
                Max raised her eyebrows. “So, I just…”  
                “Bunk down anywhere there’s room. Misha’s a cuddler, so you might end up a teddy bear, but besides that, you’re good.” Keegan said, gesturing towards an asian looking male near where Max had dropped her blanket.   It took all of three minutes for ‘Misha’ to turn Max into his own teddy bear. Max was _really_  hating the base.  
                Surprisingly, under the harsh light of day, it was worse.  
                Last night, she had seen the vague outline of the building they were housed in; an abandoned apartment complex, and they had taken refuge on the upper floors. Max had wanted to complain, but the layout made sense: if they happened to find themselves in a hostile situation and awaiting extraction orders, control the ground, but seek height, because if they lost the ground, they could still be extracted by helicopter. Realizing that, she held her tongue, but had asked about the ‘civies’ they were ‘housing’, as Alec put it. Alec had just shot her a look, his eyes catching the light in a freakishly feline way, and said, “Jesus, Max, wait till morning, will ya?”  
                The testiness of his response had surprised her, and she had fallen completely silent, even ignoring his attempt at a goodnight. He had just snickered, chuckling at her and closing the door near silently behind him.  
                This brought her back to the harsh sunlight streaming into the single, un-boarded window, and the fact that Misha was moving; she had gotten used to being an unwilling teddy bear, and now was grumpy about being woken up.  
                The first sight she was treated to was a small, dirty child peering into their room from the hall, looking rather curious about her. Max gasped, and hastily pulled her blanket back up. The child let out a shriek and dodged behind the door frame.  
                To her surprise, the 49-clone took two steps to the door, shooting her a mock offended look. “You scared Wednesday!” He disappeared behind the door frame for all of a minute, and then reappeared with the small girl in his arms; she took one look at Max and hid her face. “Oh come on, she no scarier than those walking dead people outside, and you shot one of those!”  
                Max’s eyes widened in shock, but Wednesday finally showed her face. “Felix...Alec said no one new was coming.” Her voice betrayed her age; somewhere around nine or ten, but still small and runty, and her eyes had a suspicious nature about them, like she had grown up without trusting people.  
                Felix chuckled. “Well, plans changed, peanut. What, you aren’t happy to have another one of us around?” Wednesday made a face, and he laughed outright. “You’ve gotta stop listening to the Good Reverend, Wendy; I mean, unless you  _want_  me to be a vicious beast…” He made a mock growl, and Wednesday giggled. “Why don’t you run down to chow and if you see Keegan, let her know I’m looking for her.”  
                As soon as he placed her back on the floor, Wednesday gave him a very good imitation of an Air Force salute. “Yes sir!” And before Max could blink, was on her way out of the room.  
                Felix chuckled. “Kids. I kinda hate Manticore for designing us like them…but everyone likes somebody who’s great with kids.” He sighed.  
                Max cocked an eyebrow and stood, making sure her blanket was completely covering her. “So…” She looked towards the door, after the girl.  
                He grinned. “Wednesday; it’s the day we found her. It worked for the Addams Family.”  
                Max hastily looked away, to avoid possibly offending Felix with her ‘what the fuck’ expression. “So Wednesday…her and the other civilians just wander the building?” She pulled on her BDUs, leaving the jacket off; it was too damn hot.  
                Again, Felix chuckled. “No. Wednesday is just…an escape artist. But she’s smarter than most humans and we train her when we can; she just refuses to stay locked in, whether she’s safe or not. She never leaves the building, though.” The way he said it made it clear that this had been an issue before.  
                However, Max was saved from responding as Keegan had appeared in the doorway, with none other than X5-494 himself behind her. She wasn’t quite prepared for seeing Alec and Felix in the same room yet, and glanced between the two rapidly, cataloging differences.  
                For some reason, this set off a flurry of chuckles from the remaining X5s in the room. She glanced around, only to have Alec speak, laughter clear in his voice, “Felix and I share the same human genetics donor—he’s 496 if you’re wondering—but Felix is specialty designed, like me, but different.”  
                “Aren’t we all.” Misha quipped, and Alec shot him a look which Max found very curious.   
                Felix was the one who broke the sudden silence. “Oh come on, Alec; she’s the one Sandman used as an etch-a-sketch. If he didn’t fuck with her DNA, then she’s the one exception out of the clones…and we all know that there was nothing special about 453.” Keegan smacked him across the shoulder, probably something to do with the leering expression he shared with Alec.  
                The implication made her forget that her boots weren’t completely on. “What did you do with my clone?” She asked Alec, her tone icy.  
                Keegan gave a sort of half-laugh. Max cocked an eyebrow, unwillingly having her attention drawn to the shorter female. “What? Alec warned us you were cute; he never said you were fucking  _adorable_! She gets jealous!” The last part was directed to the dark-haired Felix, who rolled his eyes.  
                “And that smack wasn’t.” She glared, and Felix grinned. “Aw, you're adorable when you’re angry.”  
                “I’ll burn you.” Keegan warned as Felix attempted to wrangle her into some sort of hug. “I’m not kidding, hands off.”  
                “You can’t burn me and you know it.” Felix said, ignoring her physical protests and successfully entrapping the smaller female. To be honest, she didn’t really look like she was putting up much of a fight.  
                Alec made a scathing noise. “Ack, so you two are back in that mood again this week. Lovely. Just  _mate_  already.” Felix made an appalled face, and Keegan mirrored it; Max wasn’t sure it was intentional.   
                “So…Felix mentioned chow?” Max asked, hopefully, breaking the awkward silence that she suspected only she felt. After all, she had just been called out—what would Alec say?  
                As it so happened, Alec laughed, but apparently, he was still in blissful ignorance. “Yeah, it’s down two levels, with the humans. For some reason, they don’t trust us with the cooking.” He tossed an eye roll, frowning in a way that was completely smirking.  
                Max felt out of place and completely baffled as how this was in any way what she had trained for just a few days ago. She focused on that feeling, because it helped hide the strange disappointment that had overwhelmed her at Alec’s apparent obliviousness. “You speak in code, you know that?”   
                Alec glanced around the room, giving a tiny nod that had them all moving towards the door. Max didn’t even notice it at first, until all of them were conveniently out the door and down the hall, leaving the two of them alone.  But Alec was playing it cool, heading towards the door as if it was a natural progression, despite Max’s cocked eyebrow. At least…until he got to the door frame.  “Maxie, you know the only reason you’re jealous of 453 is you could just  _picture_  it, right?” He raised both eyebrows suggestively, before grinning like the cat that got the canary and heading out into the hall, drumming his fingers along the frame before he let go.  
                Max stood there a moment, slightly mortified. Yeah. It was safe to say he knew about her little…( _not a crush, it’s not a crush!_ )… _thing_  for him. She  _really_  hated base camp.  
                                                                                               

 

                                                                                                ***  
  
                The mess hall was what looked to be several apartments with their walls knocked down, something the humans definitely seemed to not be pleased about. However, when Max walked in, their conversation abruptly stopped, and the twenty or so humans congregated there stared at her with dawning comprehension. It made her uneasy; she was the most recognizable of the transgenics because she was their leader, but this was unnerving.  
                “Guys, take a picture. Airman Guevara doesn’t appreciate being stared at.” Alec’s voice cut through the silence like a knife, and immediately, the human refugees began to whisper amongst themselves, still tossing a lot of looks Max’s way. She scanned the room till she could spot Alec—leaning against one of the far walls, arms crossed and staring at the clear divide at where the transgenics sat and where the refugees huddled—and started towards him. He gave her a quick smile, but then refocused his attention on one of the civilians in particular.  
                The man was dressed like clergy, despite having several layers of rags and scraps of clothes covering the main black of the uniform. And he was smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, Colonel 494, I’d have thought you had enough soulless, rampaging animals around here to keep the hoard at bay. And then you bring your figure head.”  
                From the table where Felix was scarfing down what looked like bacon and eggs with pancakes, came a noise of dismay. Felix gave a swallow (prompted by a glare from Keegan, eating much more conservatively), and turned to face the man. “Preacher, give it a rest. It’s her first day, and she thinks she’s people.” The last was said with sarcasm so thick, it was surprising the other took him seriously.  
                ‘Preacher’ scoffed, giving Max a look that made her feel like she came up short at life. “It doesn’t even know—”  
                “Enough of the ‘it’ bull, Reverend. It’s been a long night.” The new speaker was—Max’s heart leapt—Brin! But when the asian woman flopped down at the table next to Felix and Keegan, she glanced up at Max, there was only a flicker of confusion, not recognition. “Sam’s clone’s here?”  
                “We use names here, Keema.” Misha chided her, passing over what looked like a bowl of oatmeal. To Max’s surprise, he held one out towards her too. “Sorry about the cuddling last night.”  
                Again, Max felt a shudder of surprise when Alec was suddenly next to the table, pulling the seat out for her, and raising an eyebrow, his question directed towards Misha, “Cuddling?”  
                For some reason, this word sent Felix, Keegan and Keema into a fit of giggles. Max and Alec both looked at them, which only prompted them to laugh harder, causing some disapproving whispers and murmurs from the few civilians. “I forgot we can’t have fun!” Keegan suddenly exclaimed, shooting a glare over her shoulder. The murmurs fell silent immediately. “Never mind we’re risking our lives to get you all back to some measure of safety.” Her hands were clenched on the wooden table; smoke was curling from her fingers.  
                Max slid back from the table, only to hit Alec, who placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “Felix, you might need to give Keegan a hand there.” The jovial atmosphere had vanished completely.  And without a word, Felix took one of his larger hands and wrapped it over Keegan’s clenched fingers. The smoke immediately disappeared.  
                “See? Soulless, bestial servants of hell…sent do dispel the hoard since so many have turned their backs on God.”  
                The table caught fire, despite Felix’s apparent ‘magic’ hands, as Keegan leapt to her feet, snarling, “I have had  _enough_ , Preacher!”  
                And then, there was this incredible feeling of peace; Max felt like her entire body was at ease…until she caught sight of the strained look on Alec’s face. The entire room was sitting down, some smiling contentedly, and even the Preacher sat down, looking confused. The flames around Keegan’s hands sputtered and died, but there was a fire in her eyes that was sparking dangerously. “Mind fuck someone else, Alec.” She pushed away from the table, grabbing her sniper rifle from where it leaned against her chair and storming out of the mess hall.  
                There was a deep silence, and Max looked inquiringly towards Alec, surprised no one else was looking at him. In fact, they were all carefully looking away. “What the hell—”  
                “Now’s not the time.” Keema hissed, poking at her oatmeal with disinterest. Louder, she said “I’m bushed.”  
                “I’ve got to be on the perimeter in five anyway.” Felix said, looking at the burned mess of what used to be his pancakes. He gave a shrug, and finished the rest of it with a gulp of his orange juice. “Not looking forward to putting out fires all day. You promised me demolitions and explosions, Alec, not the moody pyro-kinetic.”  
                Alec cocked an eyebrow. “Pot, I think you should go find Kettle before she sets something on fire that we need.”  
                Felix stood, wagging a finger in Alec’s similar face. “Hey, I’m not moody. And we all know I’m a pyro, but as to not being burned…eh, I still think I’m just lucky.”  
                “That, or Sandman planned ahead.” Misha quipped, standing with his empty oatmeal bowl. “I mean, you’re the one out of all of us she can’t set on fire. Handy.”  
                Apparently, they all thought this was the SyFy channel, or something. “Since when did you all become Psy-Ops?” Max squeaked, feeling more and more uncomfortable. Alec shot another glare at the others, who fell silent save for Felix, who snapped a two fingered salute saying, “Lieutenant Colonel MacGyver reporting for duty.”, before meandering in the direction of the door.  
                Alec rolled his eyes before looking back at Max. “I think we might need to talk—”  
                “Understatement of the year.”  
                “Airman Guevara!” Max fell silent, not entirely sure how the title made her feel, but certainly aware that the tone Alec had taken was suddenly much more like something she remembered from Manticore. It made her stand up a little straighter, though. “As casual as we are around here, this is still a United States Air Force base. As your CO, when I say we might need to talk  _outside_ ,” He stressed the word she had cut him off previously on, “I suggest you listen.”  
                It was startling, and Max meekly followed him into the hall, aware of the eyes on her as if she had stepped out of line. She was ashamed of herself; who was Alec to tell her when intel was important? Her life was at stake out here too! But just as they cleared the mess hall and she had psyched herself up to rant, Alec spun on her.  
                “This isn’t Terminal City, 452. We don’t pretend we’re human out here; that type of thinking gets you dead. What we do out here is be the soldiers we signed up to be; despite whatever notions you might have had about ten years training being enough, you made the bottom grade, Max. Every X5 here out ranks you. And I out rank them. You see where I’m going with this?” He gave her a hard stare, waiting for her nod of understanding. “We’re casual, I told you that, but I don’t want you sassing me in front of the humans; they barely tolerate us as it is. I hate giving orders, so don’t make me turn this into one. But we have to keep a control of information around the civilians.” His expression lightened, “Max, how much did you probe into Sandman’s past?”  
                The sudden topic change confused her, but it also successfully made her curious past her growing anger. “He had another genetics lab before and after Manticore, but what the hell does this have to do with—”  
                “His genetics lab contracted out with a company called Umbrella.” Alec said, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and lighting one with a field lighter. Max stared at him, surprised, but Alec either didn’t notice, or was ignoring her. “Umbrella, as it turns out, was a big deal in everything, especially pharmaceuticals. Supposedly shut down in the Pulse, but they were taking government contracts under the radar, creating viral based Bio-Organic Weapons, or BOWs. They were supposed to take humans and turn them into us through the introduction of a virus…specifically one we found called the ‘tyrant virus’, or 't'. It…uh…didn’t work. At least, not to their specifications.” He gave a chuckle that certainly wasn’t from amusement. “You know it kills people and reanimates the dead. What you  _don’t_  know is that, in about five percent of the human population, it bonds with their DNA, mutating them. In short, it worked.”  
                Max couldn’t help herself—“What does this have to do with Sandman?”  
                Alec shot her a look that made her feel very, very stupid. “Who do you think  _designed_  this virus’s hidden traits? Perfected it’s five percent success rate?”  
                Two and two came together, and Max’s eyes widened. “Sandman?”  
                He nodded, taking a long drag. “Yep. We tracked his Umbrella contract back to 1996…when he was working for Manticore.” Alec made a face, closer to a snarl then any human expression. “And, we tracked down his files on the Umbrella server, the ones that overlap with Manticore, and found he experimented on a handful of X5s for the pharmaceutical company; all of them ended up in re-indoctrination after your group of niners escaped. Well, all except one…” He gave her a significant look. “Sandman twinned X5s designed with supposed psychic abilities; something from Manticore’s abandoned X4 line. He then exposed the younger twin—again, one exception—to the T-virus.  Apparently, mixing animals into our DNA wasn't enough.”  
                “What?!” Max leapt backwards, hitting the wall.  
                Alec raised his eyebrows. “Uh, this is where I remind you that all transgenics were designed to be resistant if not  _immune_  to this virus and it’s predecessor, Progenitor. He just, exposed us excessively. Turns out, while we’re not contagious, our bodies react to this. This unit has a genetic predisposition to…um…T-virus induced psychic tendencies?” The last part sounded every bit the Alec she remembered.  
                It did nothing to temper her ire. “And that is…”  
                He hung his head, taking another drag before answering. “Sandman… _did_  something to us, Max. Something to do with Umbrella and this virus back when we were just being designed. And now, when we’re around the infected, we have…extra abilities. Keegan, as you may have noticed, is a fire starter; pyro-kinetic.” He laughed, and this time, there was humor in it. “And Sandman must have known something, or planned his little ‘master race’, because Felix's pyro-kinetic too...we think. I can influence people.” He quickly held up his cigarette free hand. “Just emotions, not, like, fucking with your memory. Sandman didn’t go for huge stuff on my line; ours were simple enhancements meant to better our design. You females got the experimental shit, but I’m pretty sure that’s cause Sandman was sexist.”  
                Max raised an eyebrow. “I can’t tell if you’re fucking with me or not.”  
                Alec gave her a half smile, snubbing out his cigarette on the floor with a blatant disregard for what used to be polished wood. “Then tell me, Max, how the hell did you know we were under attack at Jam Pony? One might think you were  _psychic_ , and we all know you were Sandman’s  _favorite_.”  
                The words chilled her. “You’re telling me that Sandman designed that? That was…nothing! A-a fluke!”  
                “I thought the same thing.  I learned to keep my mouth shut til we got in this mess.” Alec gave a look around, looking unnerved. “Sandman was a freak, Max. And he did his best to turn us into the craziest kind imaginable. Ask the others what fun things he whipped up for them...but you should meet our friend. She’s almost freakier than us.”  
                “She’s not bad for a human.” Even Alec jumped, and Keegan smiled. Max silently cursed the sniper; the female could creep up on her wide awake. “Felix sent me to get you and…” She peered at Max for a moment, “…Max on the perimeter. Looks like we got something heading our way.” Apparently, names hadn’t been something Keegan was trained to remember.  
                Max could have sworn that Alec’s ears perked up. “Good, practice. You’re chance to shoot some moving targets.”  She could hardly contain her enthusiasm.

                It was her first time out of the apartment complex since arriving yesterday, and she was glad for a little air (even if the air smelled faintly  _sick_ ). She couldn’t help but notice the missing X5s from breakfast were patrolling the area immediately around the apartments, two searching rubble along the farthest edge of her sight-line and the others systematically alternating between checking the barricades and watching the entrance of the building. One waved at them, which Alec returned with a brief nod.  
                They followed Keegan towards the entrance where Max had come in last night, but Keegan detoured up, leaping to a make-shift scaffold twenty feet up. Alec chuckled at Max’s expression. “They gave her the ninja training. I was always so jealous.” He shouldered his weapon, and leapt up after her, making the distance look easy.   
                Max frowned. Apparently, she was just going to have to face the fact she wasn’t going to be able to rely on the ‘I was a soldier for the first ten years of my life, don’t bother me for training’ out here at all. Ignoring how ridiculous she felt, she jumped from the stance Manticore had taught her long ago.  With shock, she felt her feet hit the plywood, and then felt her center of gravity fall backwards—only to have her hand caught by a larger, warmer one. She snapped her gaze away from the ground below to see Alec grinning at her, “Watch your step there, Maxie.” She managed a glare. “Come now, you’re gonna get some shooting time in. And we both know how much you  _love_  that.”  
                “She doesn’t like  _guns_?” Keegan sounded scandalized. “Alec, I don’t want her on my tower. My tower has good karma. She’ll throw it off with her…anti-gunness.”  
                Alec waved a hand at her, causing the female to sulk. “Major…you’re tower’s karma will be fine.”   
                Max sighed, trying to ignore the banter, and joining Felix near the far edge of the tower. She was pulled back from peering over the edge, just as an explosion rocketed from under several abandoned cars below. She looked up, her startled eyes seeking Felix’s brown ones ( _and half disappointed to find them not green_ ). Felix was still scanning the horizon, but his grip was firm on her arm, keeping her evenly balanced. “Grenade. Which is probably in the top five reasonz not to just look out over something in the middle of a war-zone.” He informed her, taking a drag on the cigarette between his lips.  
                “What's the number one?”  
                He chuckled. “Well, usually Keegan. And by Keegan, I mean snipers in general. But out here…”He gestured towards the sky, knocking his sunglasses down before he gazed up.  
                Max followed his lead, only to realize there were at least thirty crows circling the skies above them. “Crows? Why are they circling here instead of over the dead?”  
                Felix exhaled, and sat down, smirking. Nearly instantaneously, the circling crows dived towards them—Max could hear them cawing, flapping—A surge of black, bloodstained beaks—she was frozen in place, unable to react—  
                There was an explosion of gunfire from three sides of her, and she dropped to a crouch instinctively, covering her head against the overly loud noise to her sensitive ears. It fell silent—her ears were still ringing—and suddenly she was being hauled to her feet; this time there were green eyes, back lit by falling, ashy, black feathers, and they were fairly pissed off.  
                “You have noticed,” Alec began, his tone barely calm, “that the crows attack when you look like you’re dormant. Perhaps you didn’t catch the fact they’re  _infected_ , since you were  _cowering_  like-like— _dammit_ , where was your  _weapon_ , soldier?”  
                Behind him, Keegan and Felix had taken up sentry positions; Max could swear they were only pretending not to be listening. It made it all the more embarrassing. “Alec, I—”  
                “If you’re gonna get taken out by fucking  _crows_ , you should head back to Wheels and continue pencil pushing to  _save the day_. And  _you_ , Colonel 496!” Alec whirled on Felix, who promptly about-faced and stood at-ease, like a perfect officer. Max felt showed up, despite the fact Alec’s ire was now vented towards his clone. “I gave you specific instructions regarding Airman Guevara, and you just decide to provoke the local murder of crows? With  _what_  brains were you given?”  
                “Explosives, demolitions and assassinations, sir.” Felix replied, and Alec looked half ready to punch him.  
                “With respect,  _sir_ ,” Keegan interrupted, standing at ease with an eye on the perimeter, “your ‘specific instructions’ never indicated the absolute incompetence level of the recruit to draw her weapon. As per standing orders, we operate with the assumption if an X5 is assigned to the Raccoon City facility, they are of officer status in the Air Force, and have shown  _basic_  competency with fire arms.” She dropped the blank, Manticore voice. “And I’ll be damned if you’re going to get us killed because of some soft spot who can't fire a fucking gun!”  
                Alec made a noise that was better suited for the African savannah then a biohazard quarantined city. “Major 105!” Keegan fell back into at-ease, glowering; flames were leaping along her arms.  
                Alec glanced at Felix, and the other broke stance, taking one of Keegan’s arms firmly in his hand and the fires sputtered, quelling to a low, blue glow. “You’ve been doing  _that_ ,” Alec gestured unnecessarily at her arms, “all fucking day, and I have more then enough grounds to bench you for insubordination. You  _want_  that kind of—”  
                ”She's in heat, Alec, or maybe you’ve spent too much time outside to use your nose! Gods,  _I_  was giving her points for not clawing you. This would also be the time I tell you the both of us are taking off tomorrow.” Felix stated.  
                Alec sighed, and hung his head. “Finish your shift  _today_  and  _take care of it_. I appreciate the effort, Keegan, but next time, requisition time  _before_  you get moodier then usual? I can barely deal with your usual brand of crazy.”  
                “Sir.” She said, with a slight head bob.  
                Max cocked an eyebrow, glancing at Alec. He sighed. “I’m gonna call this bust and get you,” He grasped her shoulder, perhaps gentler then he usually would have; Max realized that he was, in his own Alec way, attempting to sooth whatever hurt he may have caused. And he called Keegan moody. “back to base. We’re gonna do some basic drill, and get you more comfortable on the…” Alec trailed off, staring at Felix with his eyes oddly dilated.  
                Max followed his gaze, watching the other 49 clone though he was apparently standing stock still. He exhaled, and took a long, deep breath through his nose. Almost imperceptibly, Felix tensed, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest. “Code C.” He snarled, his nose twitching a bit.  
                Alec smiled. “That’s our cue. No offense, but if you can’t do crows, we have to work our way up to crimson heads. Uh, the mutation that happens if you don’t destroy the brain of a zombie.” His grin grew slightly sadistic. “Tyrant is a bitch.”  
                “Alec, you do remember they  _run_ , don’t you? I’d get her in before you’re testing her hand to hand versus their claws. Who knows, they might have lickers; I can’t tell them apart by scent yet.” Felix gave him a grim look, all the while his hands were field stripping and reassembling his semi automatic. Keegan was already on her stomach, her sniper rifle—huge in comparison to her—was aimed at a blockade of cars a half mile away from the gate and the Tower.  
                “Come on, Max.” Alec said, giving her a slight tug back towards the apartments, back towards base. She hesitated when they got to the edge of the Tower, mostly because she hadn’t seen anything to break their fall. “Can’t leave ropes.” Alec shrugged. “I can catch you.” He dropped, using his arm to catch himself on the platform, before allowing himself to fall the rest of the way; much shorter with his complete body-length subtracted from the fall.  But she had seen trick, and it made her smile to see his nod of approval. She followed him closely, keeping her hand close to the holster of her gun, even though she hated the thought of using it.   
                The first gunshot rang out when they made it barely a yard. Then they came fast and hard.  There was the sound of a ricocheting bullet. “Fuck!  _Dammit_ , Alec!” Max heard Keegan yell over the sudden burst of automatic weapons fire—Felix, without a doubt, “I told you she threw off my Tower’s karma!”  
                Alec started laughing, increasing his pace to a jog. “I promise you, Maxie, by the time I’m done with you,  you can make sure Keegan eats her words about her Tower’s ‘karma’.”  
                Despite the hell of a morning, Max found herself smiling. “What was up with her…um…”  
                “Heat?” Alec snorted. “ _Most_  females try to jump the nearest male the moment their hormones hit them—which is usually well after we’ve scented it and made sure we’re plenty available. Those two are practically  _mated_ ; Keegan may have gained some will power in the early stages of heat which is excellent as a soldier but  _fuck_  does she act like a PMS-ing human. Theoretically it’ll end when they actually accept they were designed for each other, but that’s got as much chance as—” he choked on the words, biting his lip. “Um…see you at lunch.” And the second she had crossed belong the perimeter guards, Alec made an impromptu U-turn.  
                And if that wasn’t the perfect end to a perfectly odd morning.


	3. Chapter 3

                After Alec had made like Houdini after promising her weapons training ( _it wasn’t as if she was complaining about missing that part…_ ), he had continued the trend with annoying efficiency. His half started sentence had annoyed her and peaked her curiosity, but she was more upset with the fact he had just left her there.  It had taken her barely ten minutes to get lost, mostly because she wasn’t really paying attention. She had been rescued, as it were, by the little girl Wednesday; the child had taken one look at her and before Max could say a word, was on the run back the way she had come. Thankfully, that had been in the direction of the bunks.  
                Wednesday was nowhere to be found when she arrived in the huge common room, but Keema was there, sprawled in the center of the mattresses with someone who looked like Krit: his twin 472, Devon. Max remembered him briefly from TC, remembered the excitement, then pain when she realized it wasn’t her brother. At least until Devon informed her (rather scathingly) that, genetically, they were based on the same human woman; they were clones. And then Devon had avoided speaking to her completely.  She hadn’t realized he was stationed here as well. There went the idea of napping in some relative quiet.  
                As quietly as she could, she tip-toed along the mattresses, making it to the small space open around her door. With a carefully (and rather irrationally) held breath, she eased her door open, slipped in, and shut it with a whisper. She leaned against the door, trying to hear if she had disturbed them.  
                “Those two can sleep through a missile attack; I’ve seen it.” Max jumped, knocking into the door and spinning, one hand sloppily going for her gun—She was easily disarmed, and the warm hand that slipped the weapon from her was familiar, as was his scent. “Maybe I shouldn’t have given you one of these…”  
                Max resisted the urge to snatch it back from Alec, oddly attached to the hated thing. “You’re in my room.”  
                “Figured you'd head here.” He grinned, “And you snuck in to make sure you didn’t wake up the others; you’re fucking adorable. The jump was cute too.” He held out her weapon, making sure she grasped the grip as she took it from him. “And I had to talk to you.” He looked sheepish, “I may have…egressed rather quickly…before…”  
                For some reason, Max had the sudden and vivid image of Alec booking it back to the Tower, and being told off by Felix (she could only imagine the words), before rushing back here, either to sulk or to find her…his being in her room strongly suggested the latter.  The entire idea was rather funny-- _and probably just your imagination, Max! He’s just been toying with you!_  The voice in her head that sounded just a little too much like Logan for comfort yipped softly in her ear. She was already dying for a replacement condescending voice. “I caught that.”  
                Alec took a deep breath. “Look, I wasn’t honest with you before…Manticore tweaked my brain a bit more than just sensing other people…Originally, I was just supposed to read people; ya know, so they can’t lie.” Max got a sudden chill, wondering exactly how accurate he was. “Wow, tense up much? I told you, Maxie, I’m good,” he gave her a wink, “ That means you’ve just realized what this could possibly imply. And you’re probably right; you can’t lie to me, Max, cause I know. I know in the tells that  _nobody_  can hide…and Manticore never knew I could make  _them_  feel what  _I_  wanted to. Hell, I can make a mark commit suicide, given enough time and a good repertoire with the target.” He gave her a moment, seemingly to digest the far too  _fantastical_  idea he had just presented her with. She waved him on—he was goading her into a fight, and she’d be damned if she didn’t have enough self control to hold her tongue. By the look of surprise, and the sudden defeated sigh, he had been banking on a fight. “I can also influence people around me to feel…what I feel. And it’s not something I mean to do.” He gave her a look. “You’re hot and cold as it is with me, Max…How do I know I’m not fucking with your head?”  
                ”What?” It was the only question that made sense.  
                Alec looked at her like she was an idiot. “You may not have noticed, Max, but I’ve been following you like a…well…teenager with his first crust since you burned Manticore down. With the sudden increase in my abilities due to exposure…I mean, I almost thought you were  _excited_  to see me when I showed up at you’re office.” He looked almost disappointed. “But you got Wheels, and I can misread people; at least, I did…once.” He avoided her gaze. “So aside from being a genuine Manticore Freak to epic levels, I also have to deal with the possible fact that you—”  
                She was moving before he had finished, pressing her lips to his with a ferocity that she didn’t realize she had. Alec went shock still, and Max half thought she had maybe jumped the gun a bit, when he wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her close and meeting her kiss with equal passion and fire. Her lip caught on one of his teeth as he shifted his position, and she shuddered when she realized he had broken the skin. However, the sudden copper taste caused him to leap backwards, crashing into the plywood-covered window. Max couldn’t help the surge of rejection she felt, blurting “What? What did I do?”  
                Alec was spitting, wiping at his lips with his dirty, fingerless gloves and completely avoiding her gaze. “Blood is a no-no out here.” He said, still avoiding her eyes. “Obviously, you forget our tendency to…revert towards baser instincts.”  
                Her mind flashed back to her first time in Manticore, when her unit had been sent out after a death-row inmate for a training exercise. How the hunt had made her and her unit act in vicious ways, tearing at the convict before ripping out his teeth. They had been praised that day, for letting go, for being the animal inside. Max had no idea it had been related to the  _blood_. “Seriously?”  
                Alec looked exasperated. “I still keep forgetting that you avoided our kind like the plague. Max, what happens to all predators when they taste first blood?” She stared. Alec sighed. “They get exciter, pumped; the first blood means that there’s a greater chance the prey is going down. It’s basic predator mentality. With us, well…” He gave a half shrug, “Well, I think the term ‘blood lust’ covers it. If we’re not hunting…”  He let the sentence trail, the same time running a hand up her arm.

                Max could swear that his scent shifted, but she wasn’t confident enough in her nose to be sure. He stepped closer, his lips a scant centimeter above hers. And then he was moving away, his hand catching on her hip before slipping away. “Wait, what? You’re-you’re just going to  _leave_?”  
                “Did you just  _miss_  that whole blood thing?” He brushed a finger over her bloodied lip. “You think heat’s rough? Just wait till you feel what Sandman whipped up for the taste of blood.”  
                And on that ominous note, he gave her a smile, and started towards the door. Max stepped back into his path. “Stop running away!”  
                Her plea did the opposite of it’s intentions. “Me? Max, you’re a hypocrite. As in, hey! Haven’t I been saying things like that to you since we met? Gee, a lesson on  _not_  running away from a niner.” The last part was said with a biting tone and a snarl, and he deliberately moved past her to the door. With much less care then she had shown, he threw it open and stormed into the other room, his boots making loud thuds most likely because he wanted them too.  
                Keema and Devon were still fast asleep.  
                Max wanted to run after him, but the last sentence had stung; she somehow forgot he hadn’t been a part of her unit. That scared her; she had never ‘adopted’ someone into her unit before. The implications were heavy, and she struggled to force her mind to focus, but there was a nagging ringing in her ears, and random images flashed in her mind. She caught a flash of someone familiar, bloody, fighting, and that’s when it all went black.  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                “Well, that answers that question.”  
                “Felix, shut up.”  
                “It  _does_. Do you need more proof she’s one of Sandman's?...” A pause. “And what exactly were you doing to make her fry like that?”  
                “Do you remember that off button we talked about?”  
                “Uninstalled it. Alec, you’re not going to get away from answering me.”                  
                “My  _mate_  is—”  
                “You’re  _what_?”  Perhaps it was the pitch Felix’s voice had hit, or maybe the freakishness of such similar voices arguing that made Max struggle to open her eyes. It was odd, because she didn’t remember closing them.  But, seeing the effort it took to even make that movement, Max gave up, and listened harder. One of them was speaking…Alec…  
                “ _Max_ , I meant ‘Max’.”  
                “ So you meant to say, quote,  _My Max_ , end quote? Not helping your case, bub.”  Max had to force her eyes open, just to see if the look of ‘panic’ on Alec was just as she pictured. Her eyes lighted on Felix first, wearing an oddly familiar expression of forced calm, before they flicked to Alec; he had the panic face from her mental picture. And neither seemed to notice she was awake.  
                “Don’t you have to go fuck Keegan or something?” Alec’s tone was vicious.  
                “Bitter much? What, jealous you didn’t get their first?” Felix’s was more so. “Leave my  _mate_  out of this and  _answer the fucking question_.”  
                There was a pause, and Max just  _knew_  Alec was thinking a smart-alack answer. “Hey, wait a minute,  _your_ mate?” There was a thud, and Alec made a groaning noise. “Ow! Gods, man, my stomach? Sucker punches are fucking lame.”  
                “How many missions have we been on, eh? How close was  _I_  to being CO? I’m your second for a  _reason_ , and you’re dodging me like I’m  _not_  designed to track you down by scent. And no offense, I can’t exactly not know your scent.”  
                “Touché.”  
                Felix sat back on his haunches. “You haven’t even  _bred_  with this female, and you’re calling her  _mate_? Didn’t you say she had some…broken human?”  
                Alec avoided Felix’s gaze. “Something like that.”  
                “Let it go, then. And stop coddling the niner. She thinks she’s people after all; might as well see what happens if you treat her like a human soldier.” Felix grinned. “And besides, isn’t Clinic going into heat soon?” Max felt a surge of jealousy. However, before she could say something, both Felix and Alec were already staring down at her. She hastily closed her eyes. Alec made a noise somewhat similar to a disbelieving snort. Felix ‘tsked’ her. “Well, now I know two things about this 452.” Felix started, looking back to Alec. “One, maybe your crush isn’t so one sided. Two, she obviously is an idiot.”  
                She gave up all pretense of still being unconscious and sat up, glaring, “Hey!”  
                Felix gave her a bemused smile. “Trying to fake sleep around a transgenic? Big idiot move. Not like we have superior hearing or anything. Maybe you should stop thinking like a human, eh?”  She almost snarled at him, but caught herself. Which only seemed to amuse Felix more. “Oh, ok. Keep pretending that heat is just really bad PMS, and we’ll all be ok.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice as he pushed himself to his feet. “Alec, you’re insane. Psy-ops did a number on you.” Max sputtered, unable to come up with anything at his jibe, and she could almost  _feel_  Alec bristle beside her. Felix ignored both of them. “Now, I don’t know why, but Alice is here. I’d recommend battle stations…but,  _I’m_  not CO.”  
                Alec gave a low growl that Max wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear. “Felix, re-install your off button.  _Now_.”  
                Felix gave a half-hearted salute. “Shall I go take care of Alice too,  _sir_?”  
                “No need, I let myself up.” Neither Felix nor Alec looked surprised, but Max jumped a bit, her eyes flying to the blonde who had appeared in the doorway. She was dressed much the same way as the Unit was, but she was obviously not X series. For one thing, she was too old, another, she smelled like the infection. “New recruit?” The woman asked, gesturing towards Max.  
                Alec sighed. “Yes. What’s up, Alice?”  
                She leaned against the door, one hand idly fingering the holster of her hand gun. “I was down in Umbrella's lab, and there are more ruptured containment cells. Something bigger then Lickers got out.” Alice peered at Max for a second, before looking between Felix and Alec. “She’s not infected; you planning on exposing her?”  
                “Ut-shay up-way aboutway ethay infectedway.” Felix said in a mock aside. Alec threw his canteen at him.  
                “No, Alice.” Alec said, now avoiding Max’s attempts to catch his eye. “And frankly, shut up. She hasn’t even gotten through her first day.”  
                Alice shrugged. “With how scared she looks, it might do her some good.” Her head jerked to the side, as if a sudden sound caught her attention. A millisecond later, Max could actually  _see_  the hair rise on the back of Felix’s neck, just like a cat. Alec’s did the same another millisecond later. “Apparently we’ve got more important things to worry about.”  
                “Yeah, like you stop nosing around the Hive and bringing all these nasties with you.” Felix growled. “Come on, let’s let Alec be.  _I_  wanna blow things up.”   
                Alice nodded, swinging a rather large, cannon like gun from over her shoulder. “Let’s light it up. Hey,” she added, looking towards Max, “nice meeting you.” She followed Felix out of the room.  
                Max glared daggers at Alec, finally getting him to look her way. “She wasn’t transgenic.”  
                “No, she’s not.” He didn’t say any more.  
                “Then what is she?” Max demanded, just as gun fire reached their ears.                 
                Alec bit his lip, and then finally met her gaze. “She’s human. Or was. Her DNA mutated with exposure to the t-virus.” He paused, seemingly gathering his nerve. “And…she’s another one Sandman's.”


	4. Chapter 4

 

                 Everything had hit a fever pitch. Her whole world was spinning. In desperation, Max grabbed on to the nearest solid thing—Alec—and pulled him down to her eye level. “What. Is. Going. On. Here.”  
                It could have gone badly; Alec could have thrown his command in her face, and set her to some menial punishment. Instead, Alec sat were he was being pulled over, and nearly toppled her as well. “Trust me when I say even  _I_  don’t know.”  
                Max snarled, and he looked vaguely surprised, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. “ You said exposed, not that people here are  _infected!_ ”  
                Alec looked away. “I may have…exaggerated the transgenics’ immunity to the t- and g-viruses.”  
                She let slip the addition of yet another virus. Instead she fixed him with a hard stare and growled, “Explain. Now.”  
                The growl in her voice seemed to  _do_  something to him; his pupils shrank to slits, he surged to his feet, and stepped closer to her, all the way, growling deep in his chest. “Max…” His voice was warning.  
                Vaguely, she realized she was challenging him ( _and not the good, fun kind, no. This was something primal and she had **so**  stepped in it_…) but she couldn’t find it in herself to step down, stand back. Alec was meeting her, not backing down.  “I just want…” She trailed off, staring into his panther-cloaked eyes.  
                And she was moving forward, capturing  _his_  lips with hers, and pushing all of her confusion onto him. He responded with equal intensity, pulling her closer to him.  The kiss roughened, despite the softness of his lips, and she felt his hands—still gloved—slide under her BDU jacket, under her layers, brushing against the sensitive skin along her rib cage. She hissed into the kiss, grinding against him. He broke the kiss with a growl, pulling away.  
                Max started to complain when she registered that Alec was shucking his gloves, undoing his gear belts (one gun was placed in arm’s reach, she noted with slight disdain), and pulling off his BDUs. Max hurried to follow his lead. The second she was down to her underwear, Alec was on her again, kissing her with bruising force, and pulling her flush against his fully nude body. She languished his taste—still slightly smoky from his cigarette—and made every move to memorize it. Alec’s hands were following a similar trend, running over the entirety of her body that he could reach and pushing one leg between hers. The feeling was exquisite. She moaned into his kiss, and once again, found Alec pulling away.  
                This time, he met her eyes—wild and nearly glowing with lust—and begged, “Please tell me I’m not imagining this.”  
                “You’re not. Now stop stalling.” She hastily shoved down her underwear, and Alec pushed her back; she bounced once on the mattress, already moving so that he could join her. He eased his way up her body, holding himself steady above her; she could feel his erection pressing against her core and shifted to allow him access—she wanted him  _now_. Alec ducked his head down, catching her once again in a kiss, and, ever so slowly, entered her. She arced into him, pulling him deeper into herself, and that seemed to break his control. With another primal growl, he thrust into her, hard, before pulling nearly all the way out, and thrusting again.  
                It was incredible, she swore he was made to fit her exactly perfect. Every thrust just  _hit that_  spot, and it was sending her crashing, crashing over the edge. Alec followed quickly behind, muffling his groan with a hard bite to her shoulder. She let herself go limp, feeling Alec gently lower himself to lay against her, resting his head on her chest. “Why the hell didn’t we do that sooner?” Alec said into her breast.  
                Max chuckled, peering down at him with a fondness she wasn’t aware she had. “Cause I was an idiot.”  
                She could feel him smile against her chest. “Well, as long as we got that covered.”  
                “Alec, you’re an ass.”  
                “I’m not gonna correct you if you’re  _right_.” He whined, finally pulling his head up to look at her. She didn’t forget the reason she had been mad, but right now, all she could do was look at him.   
                And catalogue that there was something  _not good_  was creeping into their post-coital bliss. “What is it?”  
                Alec rolled off her, one hand going immediately for his gun, the other for his pants. Before he answered, however, the entire building shook, as if struck by a giant. Alec’s eyes dilated in something like fear, even before the radio on his belt suddenly burst out a string of military code words.  
                He dressed faster than he had undressed. “Max, I need you to stay inside, and hold the entryway. Shoot anything that tries to get through those glass doors.” He gestured for her to dress, which she did, though considerably slower. “So I have your word; you head down to the main entrance, and you  _hold_  there.” His eyes were practically begging her.  
                She felt herself nodding. “Yes.”  
                “When I get back, I promise I’ll explain everything.” He leaned in, giving her a kiss that was tinged with panic, and then booked from her private sleeping quarters. Max hurried to respond to his last order, but the assault on the building was getting worse, causing her footing to be far more unsteady then she was used to. Coupled with the door being  _stuck_ , it took her a good five minutes to follow Alec. She half wished she didn’t.  
                It was a scene that was so familiar, she could swear she had seen it before. Alec was shouting commands to the remaining nine transgenics and Alice; every time he did, it drew the fire of the thing attacking their base. The last time, she could swear she saw two of the bullets make contact with him before he ducked the stream. She pressed closer to the glass, trying desperately to get a clearer view of what was going on when something slammed against it, startling her to jump back.  
                It was a  _person_. Max half moved to open the door when she caught sight of the legs; one was obviously broken, the other had the foot twisted to the side, walking on the ankle. She took a step back, quickly jumping to catalogue the torso and the face. Whatever it was, it had been dead a  _long_  time. And yet was still beating on the glass like salvation rested inside. Max shuddered; these things were against nature, she should have never fought his coming here. Her on the other hand…  
                With a moo-like-grunt, the zombie shoved the door, and it swung inwards, the lock tumbling from the top of the frame. It paused, perhaps it hadn’t expected the door to open, and then staggered in. Max hastily grabbed her gun from the holster, her fingers clumsily throwing the safety. The zombie staggered forward, groaning and Max closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger; part of her felt like she had broken a dam and the water was just rushing out. It had felt  _good_.  She quickly snapped her eyes open, and frowned. Apparently, her aim had suffered in the decade since she had last used a fire arm. But, the zombie was limping along a lot less now, since she had managed to fire off the twisted foot.  
                Taking a deep breath (and now wishing for those lessons Alec had promised), she carefully aimed, and squeezed. This time, the shot hit it in the shoulder, causing it to spin and fall. A moment later, it started to rise again and Max panicked. She fired in quick succession, and hastily shoved her eyes open again. Two of her shots had hit the torso, near the neck. The last had hit it’s forehead, not center, but damn enough to cause that thing to not get back up.  
                She had barely enough time to reload before another was at the door, banging against it twice before finding the opening. She only needed two shots this time.  She couldn't even marvel at her growing ease when there was a loud bang and the entire structure shuddered again. This close to the humans’ panic room, she could hear them scream, and the preacher attempt to calm the masses with a sermon. It clearly wasn’t working, and she wasn’t sure if  _any_  sermon could protect them from what she saw.  
                This thing made Frankenstein’s monster look like a sweet piece of ass. Aside from the general hulking, claws, and extraneous eye balls, it may—perhaps—have once been human. As she watched, it took one monstrously deformed and  _clawed_  hand and backhanded Felix, sending him crashing into the building and sending another round of tremors through the supports. Felix was back in the fray in barely enough time for Max to cry out; if she was right, the figure the hulking monster was stalking now was Keegan. It let out a cry that chilled her, and she wasn’t surprised to see several of the unit duck like startled cats. Another zombie wandered in, and Max took care of it with one shot—she didn’t have time to be proud of herself, though, she was too busy trying to follow the action outside.  
                A car exploded, setting off a chain that just reeked of Felix’s handiwork. The flames leapt higher when the monster shot  _tentacles_  at the one she thought was Keegan, and managed to catch her, yanking her nearly fifteen feet in the air and holding her above it’s snarling, grotesque face. The figure was firing easily at the thing’s head, causing it to swat at her with it’s more human looking, and much smaller, hand. People were yelling to each other; Max was sure that she heard Alec yell something about clearing the area. Right then, the monster got bored of getting shot at by the female it was about to eat, and  _chucked_  Keegan at the others, knocking them down—including Alec. It roared after, and started to jog towards them—they were trying to get untangled from gear and limbs, Keegan (it was definitely Keegan, she could see her clearly now) was attempted to be roused by Devon.  
                Max almost dropped her post, she wanted to help them, it looked like that  _thing_  was going to wipe them out. And then Felix stepped into the thing’s path, and had Alice help lift a  _fucking rocket launcher_  onto his shoulder. It looked like it had been torn off a surface-to-air strike pad. As she watched, Alice loaded a shell into it, and ducked by Felix’s leg. The rocket squealed out of the launcher, rocking Felix backwards, but the shell hit it’s mark. Max half wondered why Alice was standing, re-securing the launcher and loading another shell. And then she saw.  
 _The first rocket had barely injured it_.  
                She felt her gun fall limply from her fingers, even as Felix launched a second round. To her surprise, there was a wet explosion when it struck—and then a great glob of rotting flesh splattered against the doors. Well, no wonder the transgenics were getting infected—there was no way of avoiding that blood and tissue.  
                The door suddenly pulled out, and Max dove for her gun, whipping it up only to see  _a very_  bloody soldier helping carry Keegan inside. In fact, none of the five that clambered in could be told apart; she guessed Keegan was the prone one due to the hit she took. The lead one wiped at his face, revealing Alec’s familiar features. There was a definite feral ness to his eyes. “Anything break the line?” his voice was a growl.  
                Max shook her head, “Three wandered in. I took them out.”  
                Alec seemed surprised, and hurriedly drew his gun, nudging each of the bodies in turn. Only in the last did he fire a shot, point blank into the thing’s face. “It was turning. Knee shots are good, but it can still end up coming back as a crimson. Get Keegan awake.” The last bit was said to someone over his shoulder.  
                As per his command, someone was shaking her awake, quickly checking her eyes for any sign of concussion. “We got bodies.” It was Keema.  
                Keegan took a moment, blinking around like she was trying to figure out where she was, and then she struggled to her feet. She was shaky, but held her own. “Got it.” She moved quickly to the first zombie, and placed both hands on it. From her touch, flames spread, as if she had poured gasoline on the body. Within seconds, it was ash. With a half glance towards Max, she continued on to the next body.  
                Max was about to say something when the doors burst outwards again, this time, bringing in two more. “The rest of the unit is on clean up around the parameter.” Alice said, keeping one hand on (she suspected) Felix’s shoulder. The other was trembling under her touch. “And I think we might need to get Felix to the med room…”  
                “He’s fine.” Alec said in a clipped tone. “Just don’t let go of him till Keegan’s done.”  
                If Alice found the order strange, she didn’t show it. A second later, Felix made a lunge towards Keegan, and Alice—looking slightly bored—yanked him back to where he was standing. She then looked over at Max, possibly because she was the only one not dripping with excess blood. “You take these guys out?” She sounded like she was vaguely impressed. “Good job. Maybe you’ll be out with the big boys soon.”  
                “When I can work on her aim.” Alec grumbled, shooting Alice a look. “And I don’t need you influencing her. You’ve already got Keegan in your suicide squad, and look what happened.”  
                “She’s fine.” Alice pointed out, looking annoyed. “And I didn’t  _influence_  anyone. Keegan and I are  _friends_.”  
                Alec waved her off, hastily checking one other person—an X named Clinic—before ordering her to continue to check over the remaining soldiers as they came in. In hindsight, Max should have realized she was the medic. But she didn’t have time to think about that just then. Alec was stalking towards her, and there was something akin to murder in his eyes.  Or maybe she was just seeing things, because the next thing she knew, she was being pulled into the most passionate, fiery and bloody kiss she had ever had. It was seemingly forever before he pulled back, looking her over once again, as if he might have missed an injury the first time. “I don’t think I can do this.”  
                His words froze her. “What?”  
                “This. You, out here.” He gestured vaguely at himself. “Getting into this. I mean, you try so hard to be  _human_ , I shouldn’t have let you come out here.”  
                Comprehension dawned on Max; he hadn’t been angry, he had been  _afraid_. “Well, I’m out here. And I killed three of those things.” She peered at his eyes; there were tear tracks, stark against the blood they washed away. “Alec, what is it?”  
                He sighed, and wiped at his eyes, stepping back. “Nothing. I promised you an explanation, right? Mind if I push that to after I shower?”   
                Max stared at him…she was starting to think he was bipolar. “I’ll come with you. You can talk and bathe.”  
                He looked cornered, but, catching Alice’s rather pointed look, sighed and gestured for her to follow. “Oh, yeah, Alice, you can let go of Felix now.”  She shrugged and did; Felix rushed to Keegan, and checked her over, his movements frantic and rushed. A second later, with Keegan in his arms, Felix blurred past them. Alec chuckled at her expression. “I warned you, blood does funny things to us.”  
                “You’re fine.” She knew her tone was icy, but she couldn’t help it.   
                “Yeah, funny that. The only thing I could think was  _What the fuck have I gotten her into? Max is going to **die**_ , and that kinda kills the lust part.” He gave her a shrug. “Besides, you haven’t even had heat sex with a transgenic yet. Maybe we should wait till then, eh?” He winked, and took her hand, gently pulling her to him. “Don’t want to scare you off.”  She leaned into his kiss, fully aware of just how covered in blood she was getting from him, and then she felt something wet and warm hit her face. She nearly jumped back, wiping at it—  
                “Uh, that’s a piece of brain. Sorry.” Alec brushed it off her hand and onto the floor, looking sheepish. Max was quite glad she didn’t hit his shoes when she vomited. “Yeah, explanation  _later_.” She heard him mutter, as he scooped her—still heaving—into his arms and headed towards the showers. All she could think was,  _Clean! I need to be CLEAN!_  
                Yeah. Her first day was an awesome success.


	5. Chapter 5

                Max was only sure of two things; one was that vomiting on one’s Superior Officer was not a smart thing. The other was that the creature looking at her was so far beyond human, it hurt her head to look at. The vomiting, she could at least make excuses for; the thing snarling on the ceiling, though…  
                It had started off easily enough, with Alec attempting to remove the…brain matter…from her visage by bringing her up to the gym showers—the ones the transgenics used. He had been making this… _noise_ ; Max was still trying to figure out just what about it made it so soothing. He had paused, once, when he saw the bathroom door was ajar, but had shrugged it off, and continued both the noise and the trek into the echo-y room. What neither of them had expected was, as Alec reached one hand to flip on the light switch, something shot out, just barely catching the back of his hand. To Max’s (nauseated) shock, Alec crumpled, clutching at his hand while biting on the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. She angled herself for a better look—the  _flesh_  on the back of his hand was  _gone_! As if something had stuck to the skin and yanked backwards. She fought not to throw up again.  Well, at least now the gloves made sense.  
                The door suddenly slammed shut behind them; it sounded like something had leapt onto it. Max tensed, not liking that whatever this was had managed to trap and incapacitate one of them in under thirty seconds.  
                “Get to the center of the room.” Alec bit out, looking towards the ceiling for some strange reason. His eyes reflected the light just like a cat’s, it was creepy to watch him scan. She shifted her gaze to the ceiling, blinking a few times to push aside the nausea and the way her eyes had gotten used to the light. Quickly, she saw in that gray-scale that she always found so strange, but she was able to see, which was the important part. What she saw, on the other hand, was  _not_  something she  _ever_  expected to see in real life. It clearly had been human, once, a long, long time ago. Its hands ended with  _gigantic_  claws where the fingers should have been. Its entire body was crouched to the ceiling.  The way its hips and shoulders looked, it had become permanently quadrupedal. The muscles even seemed to have rearranged themselves. And it was easy to tell the muscle structure because the  _thing_  had no  _skin_. No eyes either, instead, it’s brain pushed against a thin membrane, clearly exposed through the top of it’s skull, and bulging out to where the eyes had been. And the teeth…  
                As she stared, transfixed at this horror movie monster, it made a clicking noise, and then opened its jaws and fired its  _tongue_  at her. Something warm and wet hit her arm as Alec tackled her to the ground. She fought not to gag when she realized it was the back of his injured hand, bleeding profusely and swelling. “Keep low! They have excellent hearing, and their tongues can reach fifteen feet easily. I’ve seen a licker do twenty.”  
                “Licker?”  
                   He grimly held up his hand. “You may have noticed the tongue.”   
                Indeed, she had. In fact, it was still wagging about six inches above their heads, though Alec seemed a bit unconcerned about that. “How did it get in here?” She whispered, craning her neck to look at it.  
                “Not that important at the moment. Now shut up for a second; I’m trying to count.” From his prone position, he was surveying the large, shadowy room.  
                Slowly, his words started to sink in, and that left a taste in her mouth worse than the vomit. “There’s more than  _one_?!”  
                Alec shot her a look. “Obviously. I count three. Lickers are pack hunters. And gravity doesn’t hamper them too much.” He said, as one jumped from the far wall to attach itself directly above them. Max was awed by the sheer  _speed_  of the thing. “Uh…we should probably move now.”  
                “To  _where_?”  
                “Fair point.” Alec froze for a moment, as if cataloging his options. And then, without warning, he flipped himself to his feet, hands simultaneously pulling his twin glocks from their leg holsters, firing before he had fully set his weight down.  The lickers snarled at him, and one shot out its tongue—Alec let go of the gun in his injured hand, and whipped his field knife up, severing the tongue as he dropped down to catch his still falling gun, firing the second it was in his grasp. The licker screeched in pain.

                And then, with her stomach taking a deep drop, Max heard something fleshy drop to the floor behind her. Alec was still doing his best Rambo impression, eyes switching between the two moving targets.  With a gulp, Max slowly turned her head, willing herself to have heard nothing.  
                For not having eyes, it certainly was staring at her, fangs bared and dripping with foul smelling saliva, and its tongue…oh god, it was right by her—She screamed as it wrapped around her ankle, and then  _yanked_. The tongue was covered in tiny barbs that were sticking to her skin, ripping away the leather of her boots and the cloth of her BDUs. And worse, it was dragging her  _toward it_. “Alec!”  
                “Shoot-it-in-the-fucking-face!” Alec yelled, expertly reloading with one hand while the other continued to fire.  
                A gun. She had a gun. As it dragged her towards it, she fumbled with her holster, yanking the gun out and attempting to fire before she had slid off the safety. She was starting to panic.  Her foot was practically in it’s  _mouth_  when a shot went off, loud to her ears, and exploded the brain matter on its forehead, some flying towards Max, hitting her clothes, her face. It dropped where it was, the tongue falling limp around her ankle. She swallowed, attempting to keep the contents of her stomach where they were (at least what was left of them), as she tried to figure out what happened. With a glance towards her gun, she realized  _she_  had pulled the trigger, and hastily looked back towards the still heavy gunfire coming from Alec.  
                One licker had fallen to the ground, twitching in its death throes. The other was leaping from side to side, clearly outpacing Alec’s aim. With a snarl, Alec suddenly dropped his guns and  _leapt._   In mid-air, halfway through its next teasing leap, Alec collided with the licker, ducking claws as he tore at it. With the damage that he was doing, she was sure  _he_  had to have claws himself; bare fingers just couldn’t cut like that.  Alec rolled them so the licker took the brunt of the landing, and in the split second he glanced around to catalogue the rest of the room, she caught sight of a huge gash across his face, clearly made by one of the licker’s claws. But Alec wasn’t stopping, he managed to get his hands around the licker’s thickly muscled neck, and, arms straining enough that the veins were protruding, twisted his hands.  
                The crack of bone seemed oddly loud in the echoing room.  
                It took another minute for Alec to pull himself to his feet, a low growl still resonating from his chest. Max hurried to stand, ignoring the pain in her ankle and hip, and limped over to him, trying to see how bad he was injured. He let her probe at him for a minute, let her find enough of the claw marks for her to get worried, and then, as if sensing that, pulled away. She knew from the way he was moving, he was far more injured then he was letting on. “Alec, please, let me take you to the medic—”  
                “Get over here.” He grabbed her to him with his good hand, pulling her flush against his bloody body. “Are you hurt?” His voice was too deep, too rough. She glanced down at her ankle, and he followed her gaze. “Fuck all.” He looked back up at her, his eyes still wild from the early fight. “Is it ok for now?”  
                Max tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, I mean, it stings, but,” She had no time to complete her thought; Alec was claiming her mouth with his, the coppery taste of blood mixing with his own unique flavor. She fell into the kiss, shocked to feel his erection pressing against her so hard considering his injuries. There was a squeak, like a door hinge, and Max shoved him back, glancing around with fear. “You said you didn’t know how they got in.” She reminded him. Just the thought of more of those things getting in killed any mood that had been forming.  
                Alec stared at her for a moment, and she could tell he was fighting that primal instinct that he had ordered Alice to restrain Felix for. The thought gave her chills. “Fuck.” With that, Alec headed back towards the entrance, and flicked the light on.  With no licker to stop him, the room was flooded with bright, clear, white light that effectively cleared the shadows in the ceiling. Obviously these things were smart enough to know they’d lose their advantage if the light was on, and that was a scary thought. Alec was searching, but not in the way she had seen him do previously, like a soldier.  No, this time he was searching as if tracking by scent.  
                A half minute later, he had found a window…and let out a roar that echoed loudly. Max hurried the best she could to him, only to see the giant padlock that had been holding the small window shut had been removed; it lay on the floor near his feet, with the lock open. Someone had opened it and left it off.  She met Alec’s eyes, and saw that he was losing control over whatever impulses he was fighting. One hand slammed the window shut, securing the padlock with barely a second glance. And then he stalked forward.  Max fought the urge to match his steps with backwards ones of her own, and within moments, he was pressed up against her, in her personal space, crowding her without doing more then let their uniforms brush. And she was so freakin’  _turned on_  by that.  
                Vaguely, the little Alec said on blood lust floated back to her, but by then, Alec was kissing her, his lips mauling hers, his hands ripping at her clothes. At the blood-tinged taste of his lips, she lost all rational thought; her body had finally caught up, the excess fear sliding away, while the adrenalin was still pumping strong.  She matched his force, ripping and pulling at his clothes as much as he was at hers, and within scant seconds they were both naked, bloody, and pawing at each other like hormonal teenagers.  
                Alec growled, which she instinctively knew was meant to hurry her along, and she backed herself up, leaning against the cold tile wall of one of the shower stalls, and beckoning him with a growl. He was already moving. He matched her growl, catching one leg as he pressed against her, and tugging it up to wrap around his waist, positioning her opening so he could thrust right in. Max purred at the sensation, kicking her other leg to wrap around his waist as well. Alec shifted his hands to under her hips, helping hold her steady as he steadily fucked her into the wall.  
                And  _damn_  did it feel good. Max already felt the tingling sensation of standing on a precipice, could feel every inch of herself as if she was on one super intense string. She could tell Alec was close too; his thrusts had become erratic, and his breathing was far from anything controlled. It pushed her over the edge, the thought of Alec coming undone because of her. As she screamed his name, she felt him stutter in his rhythm, and he pulled her tight, kissing her to smother his own groan. It was a long time before he moved, head resting on her shoulder, his arms against the wall behind her, holding both of their weight and regaining his breath.  
                Grinning rather stupidly (but looking much more like himself), Alec met her gaze…and then let the smile slide from his face as he cataloged the blood on her. Max knew it was why he was freaking—gently setting her down after pulling out—but she couldn’t figure out why he was  _so_  unnerved. “Alec?”  
                “Gimme a second.” Even his  _tone_  was freaked.  
                Max bit her lip, now sure that this had something to do with  _her_. “I’m sorry,” She whispered, moving to grab a towel from the rack by the showers.  
                Alec stopped her. “Knock that off,” He said, his tone still unsteady. “This has nothing to do with the sex. ...Well, maybe a little, but that’s  _really_  not the point.” He sighed, hanging his head. Max stared. “You remember people here are infected…I believe I told you saliva and blood are the easiest transmitters?” He looked pointedly down at her injured ankle, still bleeding.  
                Max looked from him to her ankle, then it all clicked. “I’m  _infected_?!”  
                “Haven’t I been saying that we all are? You honestly think a single soldier here didn’t get a bite or scratch from _something_?” He wouldn’t look at her. “The thing you saw yesterday? It’s not the only one.  Umbrella operatives kidnapped civilians; only about one ten-thousandth of the population can turn into these things, called tyrants.” He paused, pointing out a fading set of five scars in a semicircle from his ribs to his hip. “Skewered me with it’s claws—it’s flesh was still oozing from it’s mutation, so I got double dosed with ‘t’. Keegan got cornered in Arklay, and ended up with Progenitor, and Felix…well, we’re not entirely sure  _how_  he was infected, but he has tested positive for all three viruses. I’m pretty sure it’s from standing too close to them when they explode.”  
                Max couldn’t help an ironic chuckle. “Isn’t that lucky.”  
                Alec looked at her, as if he wasn’t sure why she was so calm. “Max, it’s alright. This entire unit was  _designed_  to be infected; it has no negative side effects that we’ve seen—”  
                “That you’ve  _seen_!”  
                “Max, seriously. Chill pill.”

                “You were just freaking because I’m infected!”  
                She knew she had him cold; he paused, looking as if he was gathering his thoughts. When he finally spoke, his tone was soft, quiet, and wavering. “I never want to see you hurt. I care too much.” He looked back at her. “I should have controlled myself better, and gotten you to Clin’ before—well,  _before_.” He looked away, gathering his salvageable clothes before grabbing a new uniform out of the locker marked ‘494’. “Get yourself cleaned up. I’m gonna shower here.”  
                He  _cared_  about her. And he was freaking over something that didn’t really hurt (thank god for the BDUs), and apparently, was something that he was already exposed to and living with fine. As she switched on the shower, stepping into the thankfully warm spray, despite her absolute confusion on what she should be feeling, she felt…complete. Full, almost.  Whatever was going on here, she knew one thing; it was the first time she had ever slept with a guy and came back. She was starting to get the feeling this was more then she had first thought.  
                “ _~Crrck!~ 494! We have a situation in the med bay!~_ ” The voice was tinny and shrill from his radio, but Alec snapped it up, barely glancing at Max, who had stepped from the water to hear.  
                “Go ahead, Clinic. What?”  
                “ _~ It’s Frankie! She’s…turned!~_ ”  
                Alec stared at the radio for a moment, before pressing the button down to respond. “Negative; Transgenics  _can’t_  turn.” He stood there, holding the radio, looking like he  _was willing_  it to be true.  
                “ _~She’s trying to bite my arm, Alec! Chuck your denial and get your Highest-Ranking-Ass down here!~_.”  
                “Get dressed.” He snapped to Max, tossing her a dry towel, “Then meet up with Felix and Keegan at their quarters—her heat has  _got_  to be out of their systems by now. Tell them I’ll be sending for them in ten, and to gather everyone who isn’t at the med bay.” He quickly wiped at his face, attempting to dry it. It didn’t work. “We have a situation.”


	6. Chapter 6

                There was an eerie silence through-out the entirety of Base. It seemed to be holding it’s breath with her as she made her way towards the level below the main bunking area, where, Alec had informed her, they usually kept the adult activities. Something about keeping priorities.  The slightly ironic thought did nothing to sooth her growing unease, even though she heard Felix and Keegan talking—it sounded more like arguing—and it made everything seem…less surreal. In the last day and a half, she had come to the conclusion the two were always fighting; Max couldn’t figure out if she thought it was adorable or annoying.  However, when she knocked on the door, and it was yanked open by Felix, she just wanted them clothed; neither of the two seemed to notice their nudity when he had gone for the door.  
                “ _What_ , Max?” Felix snarled. She shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere else, trying to find her voice.  But before she could answer, Keegan shot something at Felix in rapid fire Korean, and the two continued their argument, Felix to the point of turning away from the open doorway. Max assumed that was her invite in.  There was a pause in the arguing as she shut the door, and Max couldn’t help but glance towards them—Felix was tugging on a pair of boxers which didn’t entirely cover a ropey shrapnel scar on his left thigh. Max started; the scar was old, pale and white, but that was  _wrong_  because  _transgenics didn’t scar_. Even the fading set Alec had sported had been worrying.  
                She looked towards Keegan, thankfully clothed in her sports bra and underwear. She had scars too; strangely placed lacerations, and one strange spot on her neck, like a huge tear-drop.  “Ahem.” Max snapped her gaze up to Keegan’s face; the other had obviously noticed her staring. “I didn’t take you for playing both teams, Max.” her tone was light, but she looked as if she was itching to cover herself.  
                Max stuttered, her words jumbled as she attempted to explain, but Felix was already shaking his head, and she fell silent. “The scars. Forgot you weren’t there long enough to get a few.” His tone was slightly condescending; apparently scars were more common-place the longer one was at Manticore.  
                She nodded anyway, forcing down her indignation. Keegan’s expression shifted to something even more unreadable, and her right hand snapped up to cover the tear-drop mark on her neck. “Our super healing can only  _physically_  go so far.” Her voice was tight.  
                “Is that…from Arklay?”  
                The way Keegan went shock still, it was probably not the right question to ask. Felix let out a low, warning growl, stepping closer to Keegan. But she held up a hand, shooting Felix a look that clearly said  _she_  wasn’t done with whatever argument, and then looked to Max. “Yes.” It was said with finality.  
                “Is that a licker wound?” Felix questioned, carefully avoiding stepping too close to the still on edge Keegan.  
                Max nodded, the antics amusing her despite her worry. “Caught us in the showers. Alec’s a lot worse than me, though.”  
                “Which means he better be there  _yesterday_ , while you should be there  _now_.” Felix growled, moving to throw on the rest of his clothes.  
                “But, Alec said to get to you, and have you guys gather everyone, and that he was calling for you in ten.”  
                Felix froze in place, spinning on his heel. “What code?”  
                The question threw her. “What?”  
                Felix made a frustrated noise, very similar to Alec’s. “The  _code_ , Max. Such as code red, yellow, blue, A,B. C…the  _code_.”  
                Max started, afraid she had forgotten some vital thing. “H-he didn’t say a code—he just said to get you. His radio went off, something about a person named Frankie turning—”  
                “FUCK!” Felix scrambled into his clothing, continuing a rather impressive litany of curses.   
                Keegan had already dressed, and was watching Max carefully. Max couldn’t help but notice that, now, Keegan was wearing the head scarf she often donned outside; she felt a twinge of guilt that she had caused any insecurities in the other female. But Keegan was still fixing her with that oddly calculating stare. “Max, I don’t know why Alec didn’t get you to the med bay, but you need to get there—“  
                “But—”                  
                “Guevara, get your ass to the med bay  _now_. That’s an order.” Keegan’s tone had gone the same way as Alec’s did.  
                And Max honestly didn’t give a fuck that Keegan was the third highest ranking officer on grounds. “ _Alec_  told me—”  
                “Guevara get to the fucking med bay before I end up having to put a bullet between your eyes.” Keegan’s tone was deadly serious.  
                Max took an instinctive step back. “What? Why?”  
                Keegan leaned forward, “Because  _otherwise_ , you’re going to turn into one of  _them_.” She snarled.  
                Max again felt a chill that was down to her bones. “Alec said—”  
                “Look, peanut, obviously we got our information wrong.” Felix said, coming to stand next to Max. “All we know—since Keegan is rather bristly right now—is that you said Frankie turned. The last thing that took a piece of her was a licker…” He paused. “Fuck. Keegan, find Keema.” Keegan gave a curt nod and headed out the door with a slight backwards glance at Max. And then Felix took Max’s upper arm in his large hand, practically dragging her into step beside him. “You’re coming with me.”  
                “But—”  
                “I swear to god if you say ‘But Alec said’ one more time I will duct tape your mouth shut.” Max fell silent, and let Felix drag her towards the Med bay. After all,  _he_  would be the one to get in trouble…right?  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                There was blood  _everywhere_.  
                Despite once being a conference hall in muted golds and auburns, Clinic—an asian X5 (Max thought, at least), with close cropped, naturally occurring multi colored hair—had managed to keep the Field Medical Bay spotless. The smell of disinfectant always hung heavy, which was why Max had yet to enter this particular area of base.  She kind of wished she had seen in pre-blood; she didn’t think she’d ever be able to come back without  _seeing_  it.  
                Clinic was begrudgingly having her arm looked at by Devon; it looked like something had taken a chunk out of it. The something was strapped to a gurney not ten feet away from Clinic, and it was struggling.  Alec was standing over it, his gun wavering between being pulled out of the holster and shoving it back in. Max knew why; it had struck her like a lightning bolt as Felix had dragged her into the room and she first saw the boots.  
                It had been in passing, a shift change, but she had caught sight of ridiculously painted combat boots; bright blue tiger stripped with dark red. Alec had explained it was Frankie’s way of rebelling, and then relayed a brief tale about some antic or another back at Project Manticore.  She had never personally met Frankie; hadn’t even been interested enough to  _actually listen_  to Alec’s tale, other then to register his part. But she  _knew_  this was nothing she would wish on  _anyone_ , let alone a transgenic sister.  
                Frankie’s irises had faded from bright blue to white, her skin pale save where blood was pooling into her fingers. Her mouth was bloody, her teeth broken, and yet she still made lunges towards Clinic; she seemed completely unaware of Alec’s presence.  Max couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips at the sight, and slowly, Alec lifted his gaze to hers. He was clutching his side.  
 _He was clutching his side—Clinic is ripping his shirt from his body, ignoring his attempts to curl away—Bulging muscles from the strain of fighting whatever is going on inside, a glimpse of the old tyrant scar—Tentacles are poking their way out of his skin, the muscle moving as if it’s mutating before their very eyes—“Grab the serum!”—Alec is crying out, the serum **is killing** —_  
                There was a stinging slap to her cheek, and Max snapped her eyes open, one hand coming to rest on the smarting and tender area.  It was Alec, gently turning her face to look towards him, shining a pen light. She winced away, shaking her head as sound filtered back, first Alec’s breathing, then the snarling from the gurney and the low voices behind her. “What did you see?”  
                Max frowned, confused. “What?”  
                Alec made an impatient gesture with the pen light. “Before it fades, Max, what did  _you see_?”  
                It clicked. “You. You were mutating, or something.” Max reached tentatively towards him, but he pulled just out of her reach, looking pained. “Clinic gave you an injection, but it was weird…three holes…and I think it was  _killing_  you.”  
                “That’s good enough for me. Clin’, break out the serum now. Dose everyone.” Alec snapped, looking away from Max with a forced calm. Max watched as Clinic dosed herself, before moving along the room, getting Devon, Felix as well. She hovered over Max, looking indecisive.  
                Then, Felix said, “She got attacked by a licker about a half hour or so ago.” Clinic nodded, and yanked Max’s left forearm out, placing the ‘gun’ there, and injecting some green liquid into her. When she pulled the gun away, there was the circular patch with three puncture wounds that everyone was sporting. Max rubbed at the spot; whatever was in that high-tech syringe, it made her feel ill. However, when Clinic got to Alec, everything seemed to go wrong.  
                Frankie (or, what used to be Frankie), was snarling and attempting to bite Clinic as she moved past. Alec looked on the verge of passing out. And, to Max’s horror, he did just that, falling limply into Clinic’s already abused arms, gun clattering to the ground. Clinic cursed, and forced him backwards, laying him out beside the infected-laden gurney. Even from where she was, she could see he was pale and sweating, his just-shy-of-white hair making him look older instead of some surfer kid. And then Clinic was tearing at his gear belts, unhooking his armored vest, and ripping up the fresh t-shirt he had just thrown on. His torso, directly under the five wounds, was rippling, as if the muscles were rearranging.  
 _It was just like she had seen_.  
                Max grabbed Felix’s arm, desperate to fight off the gray tinging her vision, when the doors behind her slammed open. In strode Alice, and just behind her Keegan and Keema. There were others behind them, but Max could only keep track of those three, especially when Alice pulled a similar vial from her belt, yanking the syringe from Clinic, and dosed Alec directly over the rippling muscles. “Keegan, Keema, hold him down!”  As she spoke, Alec’s eyes snapped open, and he lurched upwards, only to be caught by Keema’s arm, forcing him towards the ground. She was backed by Keegan on the other side, Clinic attempting to hold his legs as Alice was carefully keeping his chest down. It looked as if he was seizing; his limbs were jerking so hard he nearly threw Keegan.  
                With a reluctant glance at Max, Felix disentangled himself from her, and moved to Alec’s head, one hand resting on each of his clone’s shoulders, and then he  _pushed_. Alec couldn’t fight against Felix’s strength, not normally. This time, however, he seemed to have extra strength; Felix looked like he was having a hard time keeping Alec down.  
                Max tried to rush forward, but was stopped by Keema, who had relinquished her position when Felix took over. “You want him transgenic, or one of those  _things_?”  
                She stilled. Beside her, she felt someone else approach, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. It was Misha, who looked spooked. “Frankie?” His tone said he already knew, but she nodded anyway. “Fuck.”  
                “That  _thing_ took a chuck out of my hand; I wouldn't call it Frankie anymore..” Clinic snapped with a head jerk towards the gurney. She was prepping another dose of the lighter green serum she had injected the first group of transgenics in the bay. Shooting a glare towards Alice, she snarled, “And  _fuck_  woman, let  _me_  administer the serum! You don’t dilute, and that makes it  _dangerous_  for us!”  
                “I’m sorry,” Alice started, with an ironically appeasing tone, “I thought you wanted your CO to still  _look_  human.” She increased the amount of body weight she was using to hold Alec’s still seizing body. “His hands are already a lost cause.” Max attempted to burst free of Keema and Misha, and only managed to slide herself to the floor, though she did get a better look. When he had attacked the licker, he had torn is apart with seemingly bare hands. Now, she could see actual, cat-like, hooked claws were rhythmically unsheathing themselves from the tips of his fingers, directly below the nail bed. Besides that, his injured hand was turning the same deep crimson color that the lickers were.  
                However, Clinic was glaring again, injecting Alec with her version of the serum. “I told you, the claws are a throwback to the  _panther_  in our DNA. All of us have them, but being able to  _use_  them is a latent trait.”  
                “Or the t-virus caused the ability to use that bit of junk claw, bone and muscle in your fingers. I mean, you  _have_  noticed that the first things that the infected grow when they mutate are  _claws_ , right?”  
                “How about you shut up before  _I_  claw you.” Keegan snarled at Alice, one hand raised from her new position securing Alec’s legs. His seizing was less now.  
                “Go burn something.” Alice shot back.  
                Max couldn’t believe their absurdity, “Is  _Alec_  ok?” As one, Felix, Alice, Keegan and Clinic seemed to realize she was there. It was almost amusing.  And then the wrist restraint snapped on the gurney.  
                Max barely had time to register the sound of snapping nylon, and there were people pushing her back—was that  _Alec_  standing?—a single gunshot sounded. The entire room went silent. Max tried to organize her thoughts, to figure out what just happened; the only clear thing she could remember was the snapping sound, and then there were varying combinations of field uniforms as she was jostled back.  
                “Did anyone get bit?” The voice was rough, ragged and destroyed, but it was Alec, and he was clutching his gun in the hand he wasn’t using to hold himself up.  There was the sound of moving cloth, and Max was roughly patted down, her ankle wound quickly assessed and ignored for the moment. Clinic was all business when it came to her job.  
                After a long moment, a relieved “All clear,” sounded from Clinic, who was looking more then a little wearied. Max pushed past the people blocking Alec from her, and ducked under his gun arm, giving him a place to lean on. He gave her a tight, quick smile, and then turned his attention to the assembled group; the remaining seven of his unit, and Alice.  
                “Frankie passed away this morning. This… _thing_  killed her.” He hissed softly at the slowly deteriorating flesh on the floor. The blue striped boots were now all red. “Everyone, a moment of silence for Frankie, X5-877.”  Max glanced around, and saw that everyone with a head covering had removed it, and all heads were bowed, including Alec’s.  A long silence stretched. And then Alec looked up, saying, “Everyone who hasn’t been re-inoculated, get it done. Felix, help me with—”  
                “Devon and I will take care of the meat. You rest. We almost lost you.” The last was said much softer.   
                “Aw, shucks, Felix. You’d finally get the attention your baby brother hogged.” Alec quipped, his mouth quirking.  
                Felix gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “I say get fracked.”  
                Even though the rest of the unit started chuckling, Max quirked her head to the side. “Fracked?”  
                “There’s children present.” Felix said by way of explanation, glancing to the doorway. Max turned too, seeing Wednesday standing there, looking lost. In fact, she was swaying slightly, and very pale. Felix seemed to have noticed as well, and scented the air. His eyes widened, and he bolted from Alec, yelling “Misha,  _move_!” The male looked confused…at least until Wednesday launched herself at his leg, biting down. He let out a horse scream, going down rather than fighting back. Felix was snarling at the others who were trying to help and only blocking the way; no one seemed to want to touch the turned little girl. Max knew why: despite Wednesday’s reaction to her specifically, she could tell the little girl had looked up to the resident unit of transgenics, and they, in turn, had grown to care for her.  
                She really wished she hadn’t caught the tears in Felix’s eyes as the realization had hit him. He had broken through the line, and grabbed Misha, holding him steady. The thing that used to be Wednesday was worrying at his leg, unable to bite through because of it’s tiny jaw. Misha closed his eyes, and went as still as he could. Felix drew his sidearm, and leveled it at the thing’s head. With a bam—and a yelp of pain from Misha—the dead thing’s head yanked backwards, managing to tear a bit of skin from Misha’s BDU clad leg. It dropped, like a broken doll.  
                Felix holstered his gun, and helped Misha into a better position for Clinic to get at him. And then he went to the little girl’s corpse. As gently as he could, he pulled her body to him, clinging it close despite the gore, and whispering what sounded like a thousand apologies. Keegan joined him, hand on his shoulder. Somehow, this was  _worse_  than Frankie. Alec nudged her, and had her help him move towards Felix, his expression as broken as Felix’s. Sometimes, their likeness made her shiver. “Felix, you’ve gotta let Keegan take care of the body.”  
                “She was so little.” Felix’s voice was beyond broken; he had been the one Wednesday was closest to, having sniffed her out when she was stuck in a collapsed elevator shaft, on a Wednesday, and brought her back to base.  
                No one else said a word. “Bro, seriously. We don’t know if she'll mutate.”  
                “I  _know_. Give me a minute, for Sandman’s sake.”  
                “Alec, I don’t think she’ll  mutate.” Misha announced, watching Clinic sew up his leg with disinterest. “ _I’d_  like a minute with the little one before…” He looked upset too.  
                Alec, however, looked far beyond the end of his tether. “Did you  _not_  notice what just happened to me? Was I  _imagining_  my muscle structure attempting to rearrange itself under my skin?” Everyone looked away, except for Felix who’s attention was still on the corpse in his arms. “Let me tell you, that is  _not_  a fun experience. And until we figure  _out why_  we’ve lost our ability to outpace the t-virus’s mutations, we’re not taking any chances. Keegan, now.”

                Keegan, to her credit as a soldier, only hesitated for a fraction of a second; it was her mate (despite the fact the two had yet to actually make that official), and he was in distress. Gently, she laid a hand on Wednesday’s corpse, and almost instantaneously, the entire thing caught flame, burning a bright white blue, with yellow tips. Felix held the burning corpse, and to Max’s surprise, what the others had said about him was true; the flames didn’t seem to touch him. It was only after there was cinders left that he looked up and looked at Alec. “We need to get the serum perfected. We need it to work on humans and us the way it  _was designed_  to.”  
                “Designed?” Misha asked, looking confused. “I thought Clinic and Alice made this shit up.”  
                Alice gave a humorless laugh. “No. I knew about the anti-virus when I worked for Umbrella. I was supposed to get it, and expose them for the weapons company they are. My…partner decided it was better to sell it on the black market, and started the initial infection to get out of Arklay. This,” She held up a vial identical to the one she had injected Alec with, “is the anti-virus. Umbrella designed it to cure the outbreak, cure infected people. It doesn’t work, though. Not if you can’t dose within three hours of a bite; less if they're bit multiple times. We ended up wasting what little we had on trying to cure people too far gone. The rest we’ve been diluting, as an attempt to create a vaccine.  But because the anti-virus targets foreign DNA cells, which you guys are just chock full of, it could turn you to water if you were given enough of it.”  
                “Thanks for that valiant attempt though.” Clinic snapped. “Alec’s already been injected too many times.”  
                Alec gave a semi-drunken laugh. “Come on, Clin, Sandman patched us up stronger than that. After all, he designed the anti-virus, didn’t he?”  
                Alice shook her head, and Keegan snorted. “Fuck, Alec, if you’re relying on  _that_  logic to get you through this, Sandman fucked with your head more than I thought. He designed  _us_  and then he designs a virus to  _fuck_  with us and kill everyone else! How do we know he didn’t design this anti-virus to be a kill switch for us?”  
                Alec looked like he was seriously pondering that. “Fair point.”  
                “We’re lab rats; expendable. And you know what? We can’t afford to forget that.” Keegan gave a small shudder. “And I really don’t want to find out what they’re planning on ‘testing’ next.”  Max’s mind flashed to her strange future-vision; her injured ankle gave a throb. Yeah, she didn’t want to know, either.


	7. Chapter 7

                An uneasy silence blanketed the Base. Max was unsure if it would ever lift; the few civilians she had seen in the halls completely avoided any type of contact—eye or otherwise. She  _wanted_  to be with Alec, helping him recover, but he had ordered everyone but Clinic and his highest ranking officers out of the med bay. Alec had been hot and cold before, but this took the cake.  
                “You’re blocking the hall.”  Max spun, gasping when she realized there was someone directly behind her.   Keegan seemed only mildly irked as she snapped, “Ok, so moving is not an option,” and she planted one foot on the wall and jumped up, swinging past Max and landing with the sound of ripping wall paper. Max glanced up, shocked to see four claw marks dragging down the wall in the arc Keegan had taken.  
                Speaking of claws, Keegan’s fingers were bleeding, a soft pit-plat from the tips. “Does that hurt?” Max asked.  
                Keegan paused in her trek down the hall. “Do you always ask stupid questions? Pick it up, guys.” The last was said over Max’s head, and then Max saw Keema and a female she had only seen in the puppy pile heading towards her, near as silent as Keegan. It surprised her to see they were all armed with sniper rifles.  
                They moved on, and Max changed course, heading back towards the med bay. It didn’t take her long, and she shoved open the doors to see Alec begrudgingly allowing Clinic to take X-Rays of his ribs and hands with a dated imager. He didn’t seem surprised she had showed up.  “Max, we’re organizing something that you won’t like. Get back up to quarters.” He was determinedly not looking at her.  
                “I figured as much.” Max said, archly. Clinic rolled her eyes and moved to go check on the films. “So, what is it?”  
                When Alec looked at her, his eyes were cold. “I radioed in to command. We received new orders regarding civilians due to this outbreak.” His tone didn’t bode well.  
                “What are you going to do? Kill them?”  
                “Terminate any civilian showing symptoms.” He confirmed, glancing towards the ceiling, where the architect had designed exposed wooded beams. “Felix’s already assessed the population. Snipers have their targets.”  
                She wasn’t sure if she could feel more outrage. “You’re just going to  _shoot_  them? What about that serum-anti-virus-thing?”  
                He gave her a look. “Do you know how often they  _lie_  about  _when_  they were bit? Humans will do anything for the chance to survive; they don’t give a shit that they may be wasting another person’s chance at life.”  
                Max stared at Alec, unable to recognize him beneath the mask of 494. It was chilling how condescending he sounded towards humans when his human mask wasn’t there. “But—”  
                “ _This is **not**  open for discussion_!” The voice wasn’t  _remotely_  human; even Clinic popped her head up to see what was going on. Alec dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and then turned back to Max. “You have slid by on a lot of disobeyed orders,” He gave her a pointed look, which she knew to meant her even  _being_  here was an example of that, “and now we  _can’t afford that_.” he seemed unable to keep the snarl out of his voice. “Whatever we had, it’s done. You’re my subordinate, and it’s time I started treating you like it. And it’s time  _you_  started treating me like you’re Commanding Officer.”   
                Her jaw dropped. “What?”  
                “I shouldn’t have to repeat myself; you heard what I said. If you had trouble comprehending that, soldier, you’re heading towards incompetence on a massive scale.” His tone was flat and harsh; he was a perfect mimic of the instructors she could remember from Manticore. “The matter of the civilians is closed. You are to report for duty with Misha.”  
                Max turned away, heading to comply when she registered the waver in his voice. She risked a glance backwards, but Alec had turned away, using his good hand to brush something from his cheek. It bugged her—he should be more upset. She dropped her life to help with  _his_  cause, and then he just… _dumps_  her? Anger abandoned her, replaced by a sorrow so deep…In a half blind rush, she shoved the doors open, leaving the med bay with a choked sob.  
                “Now, even I think that was kind of harsh.” Clinic announced, carrying the films over. “She’s out of her element, she just found out she’s been exposed to a virus that we  _do not_  have an immunity to, and to make it all worse, she’s head over heels for you. Oh, and she’s a ‘niner.”  
                Alec snatched the films from her, holding them up to the light, “At the risk of repeating myself, this is  _not_  up for discussion.” His gaze tightened to a spot near the carpus, and his mouth tightened. “Alice may have a point. The bones in my wrist have shifted…which is odd because I can’t see the change on the outside.” He examined the back of his hand closely, “But….you  _can_  see the muscles developing from extending the claws.”  
                Clinic yanked the films from his hand. “Until the tissue sample comes back with mutated transgenic DNA, I’m still calling it latent. I mean, ninety percent of the X5s have this congenital ‘defect’ as it were. We don’t know if you have the most control over those muscles; as far as we know, there could be an unexposed X5 who has mastered this.”  
                Alec shot her a look which clearly conveyed how much of a long shot that was. “You didn’t give me my chest x-rays.”  
                Clinic paused, “I don’t think you’re going to like them.”  
                “How bad?”  
                “Two of your ribs have fused. Aside from that, the extra muscle is being deteriorated by the serum. Those…things…have completely vanished.”  
                “Tentacles, Clinic. I had fucking  _tentacles_  poking out of my  _scars_!” Alec paused, and then yanked his shirt up. “Speaking of, my scars are gone.”  
                Clinic quickly confirmed the assessment. “Your healing factor’s increased.”  
                “No fucking duh.” He glanced down at his watch, and then closed his eyes. Not a second later, the sound of silencer suppressed gunfire reached his ears. Neither he nor Clinic flinched. “So, forty humans are down to twenty-three. Clinic, I’ll send down anyone else who becomes exposed in our unit. I’m ordering you to use the undiluted anti-virus.” He stared down at his formerly injured hand; the regrown skin was pale and pink from it’s newness, the rest of his hand had faded back to its tanned coloring. “If anyone else turns…”He trailed off, shrugging on his field jacket.  
                Clinic halted him, “You could barely stand twenty minutes ago.”  
                Alec shrugged. “That was twenty minutes ago. I actually feel…great.” With a smirk and a wink, he slid out of the med bay.  
                Clinic rolled her eyes at his retreating back, and gathered up the films and lab work. Heading to her computer, she pulled up Alec’s file and updated it. With a glance around, she opened up her contact list, and sent the file with only the words “It’s started” in the Subject. It was sent to a.wesker, at umbrella dot com.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Duty with Misha turned out to be sweeping foul-smelling dirt from an unused conference room on the third floor. With Max’s current mood, it was oddly fitting. She figured it was a menial, punishment detail; Alec’s idea of showing her who was in charge. The thought brought tears to her eyes, which she wiped away, smearing that foul smelling shit all over. She was going to have to shower again…the thought made her eyes prickle again, and she wanted to smack herself for her stupidity. The first thing she had to do was  _stop_  associating everything with Alec. They had been together for maybe eighteen hours when he…left; it was stupid to be so attached to someone.  
                The sound of metal clattering along the floor shook her out of her thoughts. She turned, in time to see Misha limping after a shiny, copper thing rolling; she picked it up, wondering why he would risk moving like that when his leg was still injured. And then she actually  _looked_  at what she had scooped up. It was a casing; a bullet casing.  
                Realization snapped together in her head, and she dropped the piece of metal, stumbling back a few steps. “Is this…people?”  
                Misha shot her a look, snatching up the casing and tossing it into a small pile in his corner. “Max, Alec benched you. This is grunt work; fine for me, since I’m not exactly going to win any foot races, but that’s a  _demerit_  for you.” He picked up his broom, continuing his work. “I’d stop questioning everything.”  
                “It  _is_.” She forced herself not to gag. “This shouldn’t be done! Who  _does_  shit like this?”  
                “Alec.” Misha’s tone was hard. “Me. Keema. Keegan. Felix. Fuck,  _everyone_  currently residing in the field or at Terminal City did. We dug through the burned remains of our kind, looking for survivors. Why? Because  _you_  had to push Director Renfro’s buttons, and call her bluff. Except she wasn’t bluffing, was she, Max? You know, we lost about a tenth of our population to that fire? The X5s alone.” By now, his tone had shifted to straight up  _icy_. “I’d suck it up, or find your own way out of the hot zone. And good luck staying, you know, transgenic while getting back. Wouldn’t want you to infect your  _boyfriend_  with another incurable disease.” He spun away from her, angrily shoving the broom along the floor.  
                Max stared at him, almost unable to comprehend it. This was how the transgenics started their life in this world; they swept away the ashes of their dead, while searching desperately for the ones who may have survived, despite the inferno Manticore had become. Maybe she was reading too much into this, but perhaps that had been Alec’s point.  
                                                                               

                                                                                                ***

                There were several things Alec hated doing; from digging trenches, to cleaning used garrote wire, he had his share of foul jobs. This took the cake.  He was standing in the human’s quarters, staring around at the remaining twenty three of them. It was impossible for them to not to notice that practically half of them were gone. And it was his job to tell them why.  
                He took a deep breath, and cleared his throat, effectively ending the mumbles in the crowd. “There was an outbreak.” He waited for their gasps and cries to stop before he moved on, though his eye caught on the good Reverend, standing just off to the side. He didn’t seem surprised. Alec made a mental note of that. “From what we can put together, Wednesday went beyond the perimeter and got a bite from something. She was infected as of approximately 0400 this morning. Seventeen of you came in contact with her blood or saliva. Two of ours did as well. Misha is alright, but we lost Frankie.” He looked down, not wanting to see the few faces who cared tear up; but his eye caught on the Reverend again, who’s expression hadn’t changed. “We’re going into lock down mode until we can deduce how, one, Wednesday snuck out and, two, who tampered with the window in the transgenic’s head allowing a licker to enter the premises. The licker is down,” He had to practically yell above the burst of murmurs through the crowd. He was glad he hadn’t told them  _three_  had gotten in. “I’m keeping all of you informed. Thank you.”  
                As he leapt down from the table he had been standing on, he found his gaze drawn once again to the Reverend in the back. The man had a small smile quirking at the corner of his mouth, almost as if he had been  _glad_. Alec’s eyes narrowed, and he updated his mental note.  With a growing sense of unease, he left the room, the hair on the back of his neck standing. Something was not right.


	8. Chapter 8

                Max dragged her heals the following morning, heading to the sixth floor conference room with a weight in her gut.  She had spent the evening in her own quarters, flat out refusing to join the rather small puppy pile on the floor. For one thing, they were all the transgenics she didn’t know, another…Alec wasn’t there. The result had been no sleep, and glimmers of visions involving all of her friends (human and transgenic) turning into those white-eyed dead things.  
                As she walked past a door (she thought it might be a closet), she heard a whimper, and the sound of someone talking low and soft. Her interest peaked, she stepped closer to the door.  
                “I’ve got ya, it’s ok.” The voice was soft, and it was almost enough for her to confuse it for Alec, but the pitch was just a bit too deep. It was Felix, and he sounded worried. “Please, take the pills. You’re not going to be able to shoot anything shaking like this.”  
                “Y-y-you need t-t-them.” That was Keegan, and she sounded like she was in the depths of a very bad seizure. “I-I feel like I’ma pa-pass out.”  
                “I’ve got ya.” There was a burst of flame from under the door, and Max could swear something was burning, but Felix didn’t say anything other than, “Really gotta remember to keep your hands on me when you do this.” He sounded vaguely amused despite his concern. There was no answer from Keegan, and Max figured that she had fallen unconscious. Summoning up her courage, she carefully pulled the door open.  
                It was a room that may have been servants quarters once upon a millennia ago. Small, but it had a bed, and Felix was sitting on it, cradling Keegan in his lap. The mattress was smoking slightly.  And complete this lovely picture, Felix was growling at her, eyes catching the light from outside, making him look anything but human. Max held her hands up in an attempt to show she was not a threat. The growling lessened in intensity. “Is she out of tryptophan?”  
                “Peanut?” Felix looked genuinely confused for a moment, and then his expression cleared, and he gave her a small smile. “Yeah, sorry. Suddenly have all these…instincts I guess.” He looked back down at Keegan, who was still trembling in his arms. “It’s like I need her to be ok. It scares me.”   
                Max could only nod, not having an idea of what he was talking about. Instead, she pulled her own supply of tryptophan out of her vest pocket, and tossed it lightly to Felix. “I haven’t had the shakes since I got out the second time.”  
                Felix cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t toss them back. Max could see the tremor in his own hand as he caught them. But she said nothing, following his lead. “Keegan’s ability eats serotonin for breakfast.” He said by way of explanation. “All of us with physically manifesting abilities have that issue.” He gave a mirthless chuckle. “And apparently mine qualifies.” He slipped two of the pills out of her container, and tossed it back. “We don’t know which type you have yet.”   
                She slipped the pills back in her vest, accepting his logic. “Are you handling this ok?”  
                Felix laughed at her, seemingly against his own attempts at control. “Am  _I_  handling this? From what I’ve heard, I should be asking  _you_  that question.” Her expression darkened, and he sighed, “I know my brother. As much as this isn’t a comfort, I know he has a reason.”  
                “Yeah, I was another notch in his bedpost. Good ole’ Alec, real tom cat.”  
                “If you had a  _clue_ , you wouldn’t say shit like that.” Felix replied, calmly. “I like you, Peanut, but  _damn_  have you some serious misconceptions about 494. You keep mouthing off like that, and I can promise you, someone will put you in your place.” His voice clearly said, while he wasn’t the one to worry about, this was her only warning. “Would you mind telling Alec what the situation is? I don’t think she’ll be up for active duty, and I just need to get her back to quarters—”  
                “Take a half day.” Both Max and Felix snapped their attention to the doorway, where Alec was leaning. “I came looking for you.” He said, speaking to Felix. “If Keegan’s that bad, take her down to the infirmary. I’m tired of you two attempting to conserve resources at the expense of yourselves. I need everyone in prime fighting form.” He finally looked at Max. “You’re late.”  
                Max stuttered, “I was help—”  
                “The meeting was to begin at 0600. It’s 0645. I heard you in the hall, and you were not standing here for forty-five minutes.” His tone wavered between apologetic and scolding. It was as if he was trying to remain strong…and Max quickly shoved down the little spark of hope that flared. “Get to the meeting.”  
                Max nodded, unsure of how to proceed but opting to follow his lead. “Sir.” She said, before heading out the door. She caught his start at her words, and part of her smiled. She hid it though, not breaking stride.  
                Alec waited till she had cleared the hall before he spoke. “So what’s the deal; are you two mated or what? This random instinct thing is getting old.”  
                Felix glared at him. “So is the bullshit with you and Max. What, she wasn’t good enough in bed? Or was she  _too_  experience—”  Alec snarled, lunging forward and swinging at Felix, who had already moved Keegan onto the mattress proper, and had met Alec’s swing with a sharp knife hand to the pressure point on the inside of his arm. The arm fell dead at his side, and Alec made to swing with his other hand only to realize Felix had his gun trained dead between his eyes. “Yeah. Attacking without thinking tends to get you dead, doesn’t it?”  
                Alec sighed. “What point are you making?”  
                “You’re an asshole. What you did to Max was…fuck, man, that was on par with  _Renfro_. You of all people should  _know_  what she feels for you; I swear,  _I_  get love-sick for all the oxytocin she’s pumping out.” Felix’s tone turned harsh. “And if you  _did_  just lose interest, _brother_ , I may need to give you another re-indoctrination Because that would have been just  _cruel_  considering what you  _know_ —”  
                “Do you think I  _wanted_  to do it? Do you think I  _wanted_  to send a way the  _one_  fucking female I’ve been in love with since Manticore? Do you think I  _wanted_  to send away  _the one_  female I want to  _claim_?  _No_!” Alec slumped to the ground, as if that outburst was all he had in him.  
                With a glance back to make sure Keegan was stable, Felix was glaring at Alec like he had just punched a puppy in the face. “Then you are possibly the most idiotic  _thing_  on the planet. If you didn’t want to do it, then you shouldn’t’ve.”  
                Alec sighed, slumping a bit more. “Felix, despite what Clinic keeps insisting, I’m pretty sure I’m not completely transgenic anymore. I  _feel_  different.”  
                “Well you always were a hypochondriac.”  
                “Shut up. I’m serious.”  
                “So am I.” Felix glared at him. “You’re shoving Max away because you  _think_  something’s happening to you. Hey, newsflash, I saw your ‘mutation’. It’s the same one that Alice gets when she’s way too injured. Maybe you’re not completely transgenic; I’m damn sure you’re the same thing  _she_  is though. So knock it off, and make things better.”  
                Alec stared, jaw hanging open. “Wha?”  
                Felix huffed, scooping Keegan into his arms and jostling Alec in his way to the exit. “Stop being an idiot and torturing yourself for nothing. And yes, Keegan and I are mated. If you got your hopes up that the random surges of instincts disappear…heh.” He chuckled to himself, and left with Keegan still trembling slightly, one of her hands unconsciously wrapping in his shirt.  
                Alec stood there for a long moment before he shook himself, as if clearing his head. “Like Max will even forgive me after that one.”  
                                                                                                ***

                Felix had an odd chill when he brought Keegan to the floor just below the main sleeping quarters. And he wasn’t one prone to wimples, or whatever those fucking humans called the prickling sensation along his flesh. It put him on his guard, and made him feel especially uneasy to have no way of defending his mate.  S _ick-dead-not-right-taint_  flashed across his tongue, and Felix froze, scenting the air to find the source of the smell. It didn’t take long; the window in their personal ‘bedroom’ was thrown wide open. Completely puzzling, as that window had been  _boarded up_  when they had left for the meeting not forty-five minutes before. And it had been one of his jobs; his last name wasn’t  _MacGyver_  for nothing.  Someone had to have pried the boards off, and that someone would have had to be _very_  strong to do it in such a short time. This was  _sabotage_ , and that meant  _none_  of their defenses could be trusted.   
                But there was something else…there was blood on the sill. Felix tensed, lowering Keegan to the ground before drawing his pistol and approaching to get a better scent. It was human…but there was something else in it. And it was familiar…It was  _calling_  to him. Someone had smeared this compelling scented blood here on purpose, perhaps to draw him there.  
                Beneath him, Keegan gave a weak groan. Felix snapped back to his senses, realizing he was only centimeters from licking the foreign blood; hastily, he yanked himself backwards.  Now the mixed scent was obvious; it was  _infected_ , but, god, none of that blood had ever provoked such a reaction in him before.  And just  _what_  reaction might it have on the lickers and other assorted climbing things that prowled out there? The  _sick-dead-not-right-taint_  smell got stronger. Felix slammed the window shut just as the first licker slammed into the Plexiglas. Felix held his ground, snarling with a ferocity to match the creature outside. Below him, he felt Keegan’s hand tentatively brush his leg; she was trying to discern her surroundings.  
                “Hey, baby-girl, grab something to bar the window with.” He said, flashing her a light smile despite the fact the licker was shoving against him with increasing ferocity. Keegan took two bleary blinks at him, and then moved to comply; not bothering to attempt to stand on seizure-weakened legs, she crawled towards the wall, where someone had lazily deposited the plywood yanked from the window. Only now did she attempt to stand, using the wood as a crutch as she hobbled as quickly as she could back to Felix.  
 _They left the nails in, how thoughtful._  Felix thought, shoving the board into place and then pounding the nails in; by the time he was done, the window wasn’t budging. With a relieved sigh, he caught Keegan, who had fallen unsteady without her prop. “Trap?” He asked, trusting her assessment.  
                She shook her head, taking in the room. “Test.” She paused, looking at him closely. “You have blood on your nose.”  
                Felix made to wipe it off, but Keegan beat him to it, bringing her stained finger to her nose with every intention to find out who’s it was. Felix snatched her hand away from her mouth before she attempted the same thing he nearly did. “I can see test. But was the blood meant for us, or as bait for  _them_?” He gestured towards the window.  
                “No one knows enough about us for it to be  _for_  us…But it was meant to set us up for something.” Keegan frowned. “If it was meant for the BOWs,  _our_  reaction is very troubling.” Her eyes had gone wide.  
                Felix grabbed her, holding her to him. “Keegan, it will be ok. Calm down; you just seized.”  
                “But we’re in the middle of some sick experiment, and we just busted this test.” She didn’t look any calmer. “I don’t  _want_  to be experimented on again.”  
                He tightened his arms around her, making sure there was no room for her to move away. “I won’t let them do to you what Manticore did.” He promised, “We’re going to beat this, and no one will use us as lab-rats again. You hear me, baby-girl?”  
                Keegan nodded, pushing herself onto her tip-toes to press a kiss to Felix’s lips. “You planning on blowing up Umbrella, like Manticore? Cause you know what they have planned is worse.”  
                “It’s a start.” Felix conceded, flashing her a smile. “But I’m taking down whoever’s behind this…and I’ll make sure Sandman stays dead.” His tone had gone rough, and the growl overpowered his ‘r’s.  
                It sent a chill through Keegan. “Don’t die in the process.”  
                He gave a humorless laugh; “Let me survive this first.”


	9. Chapter 9

                The meeting had basically thrown a lot of code-words that meant nothing to Max. One thing that she had thought was odd was that the head of each department (usually including Felix and Keegan) was backed by their back-up units. Max had been surprised when Keema had nudged her towards Misha, who was standing next to Alec, in the place Felix usually was. She took that to mean she was part of the demolitions team. Keema was standing in for Keegan, with the unknown female X behind her, and Devon and Clinic were standing side by side. A little behind them, was Alice, the only non-transgenic in the room.  Even  _she_  was understanding them.  
                Max sighed, waiting till Alec called for any questions. She just hoped she wouldn’t irk him too much with her ‘inexperience’; she rolled her eyes at the word. They were practically speaking Farsi, they better not mock her for not knowing.  
                “So, to summarize because I can see I’m losing Devon,” Alec snarked, a smile just barely touching his lips as Devon sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck, “I’m taking a strike team into Umbrella’s Hive proper. Our goal is to get a more ready supply of the anti-virus, but I’m not adverse to attempting to wipe out whatever else Umbrella has hidden down there. I’m not expecting the team to come back; Alice will be our runner. She alone knows exactly what the schematics are, and she is also the only one the humans really relax around. So, when I give the order, I expect to hear a radio that you’ve reported to Base.”  From where she stood, Alice made to protest, but, looking at Alec, she stopped herself, and gave a resigned nod.  
                “Sir, the strike team will comprise of…?” That was from Keema, who was taking notes quickly in a busted field note.  
                Alec looked resigned. “Alice for starters; she knows the terrain. And…I’m taking everyone who has had excessive exposure; Felix, Keegan, Dusty and myself.”  
                “It’s  _Dust_.” The unfamiliar X snapped, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Alec,  _I’m Dust_  not  _Dust **y**_. Do I look like I’m covered in dirt?”  
                Alec’s lips quirked again. “Glad to see in the face of a suicide, you’re still anal about your name.”  
                “I at  _least_  want my tombstone correct. Just hope they carve ‘Alec’ and not ‘Ale _x_ ’ into yours.”  
                He waved her off. “Dust, it’ll be fine.”  
                “No.” Max couldn’t help herself, she instinctively took a step back, ducking down a little when Alec’s gaze fell to her. “I don’t know how you think a  _suicide_  mission is  _fine_.”  
                Something flickered across Alec’s face, and for a moment, she was dead sure she was about to get screamed at all over again. But he glanced back around the room, sighing. “We’re leaving at 1000 hours. Dismissed, but not you.” He said, looking at Max.  Nobody gave either of them a second thought as they walked from the room, though Max caught Alice hesitate at the door. Alec waved her on, and the older woman nodded before ducking out.  
                Max stared at the ground. “I’m sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.”  
                Alec made a noise; she was sure he was laughing at her, but when she tilted her head up to see, she found herself enveloped in a kiss. Startled, she pulled away, catching the barest hint of that emotion flicker on Alec again. “What was that?”  
                “ _You_  apologize? Seriously? For what, being shocked that members of your unit were going on a suicide mission? Max, there are plenty of things to get irked with from you; the fact you’re not comfortable with a mission that we’re not coming back from is nothing. Fuck, I’m surprised Keema and Devon weren’t objecting like mad…But we have to do it. We have no choice.”  
                She stared at him, half not believing his own way of missing the obvious. “I mean the kiss, Alec.”  
                “Oh.” He looked awkward, shifting his weight. “That one…took me by surprise too.”  
                “You said we were over.” She reminded him, her voice accusing.  
                He looked at the ground, not meeting her gaze. “And we are. I can’t expose you to what I may be becoming.” He finally glanced up. “It doesn’t stop the fact I love you. I can’t let you get hurt; who knows if I’ll mutate like those tyrants? No, Max. I’m sorry.”  
                She didn’t quite believe his words, but she knew jumping on that point was only going to make him close up again. “We’ll talk when you get back?” She couldn’t keep the hope out of her voice.  
                For the first time since he had snapped at her, she saw a real smile light up his face. “Sure, Maxie,” he said, chuckling, “When I get back.”  
                The way he said it gave her chills; she was starting to think he wasn't even going to try to come home. “And you better. I followed your ass out here, don’t leave me all alone.”  
                It struck something in him, and his smile faded. “I don’t plan to.” She didn’t quite believe him.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                There was something about a near-death experience that made the blood pump. Felix cursed the timing, but when he had scented her so close, and after such a bad scare, it had been all he could do to keep himself from tearing Keegan’s clothes off. Even so, he was able to send her seizing again; orgasms and seizures didn’t mix.  So, instead of cuddles, he found himself cradling her, though she was grinning at him, which made him feel a little better.  However, the knock on their door made him cautious all over again. “Come.”  
                Alec stepped into the room, ignoring their nudity; Manticore hadn't raised them to be modest. “You guys up for some heavy talk?”  
                “We’re going into the Hive.” Keegan chattered, trying to pull herself up.   
                Alec frowned. “How did you know?”  
                Felix gave a soft chuckle. “I’ve been waiting for you to call this since Alice told you about it when we rescued her from the hospital.”  He paused, taking in his younger clone, “I’m guessing it didn’t go very well.”  
 _Damn him for always having a nose for that shit_. Alec couldn’t even  _pretend_  he didn’t know what Felix was talking about; the look on his brother’s face warned him not to even try. “Well, I kinda broke up with—”  
                “Dumped, Alec. You  _dumped_  her. Use  _accurate_  terminology.” Keegan chastised, finally able to sit on her own.  
                Alec shot her a withering glare. “ _Fine_. I kinda  _dumped_  her, then dropped that I’m heading out on a suicide mission. She wants to ‘talk when I get back’.” He scoffed a little, “Missing the concept of ‘suicide’.”  
                “I bet your smarmy ass promised to come back too.” Felix said, knowingly. “Do you  _even have_  a nose, or do you  _intentionally_  aim for all the shit you step in?”  
                “She practically  _begged_  me to come back! What would you have done, oh wise and powerful big brother?” Alec sank on to the edge of the bed, exasperated.  
                Felix gave him a look, and then turned to Keegan, “I’m an asshole and a stupid jerk for dumping you. I’m heading out on a mission, and I doubt I’m coming back. I wasted what time we had. I’m sorry.” His gaze snapped back to Alec, “Which is where you probably would have had to hold for some tears or crap. Max likes to think she’s human right? She’d bawl.”  
                Alec couldn’t help the skeptical eyebrow raise. He hated it, because Felix would mirror it. Just like now. “Dude, seriously. How is that a  _good_  thing?”  
                “It might be a news flash, but human women tend to  _like_  being miserable. They have these huge epic romanticized ideas of what they want to happen; you doing that would be a billion ex-girlfriends’ wet-dream.” Keegan said, matter-of-factly.  
                Alec stared at the two of them like both had lost their minds…which, being out here, wasn’t out of the question. However, it did answer several inquiries of his own regarding the ever shifting moods of human females. “No offense, Keegan, but females are fucking  _weird_.”  
                She cocked an eyebrow herself, “And you  _males_  are so easy to comprehend? I didn’t see a  _female_  breaking the heart of her lover to  _protect_  him…Oh wait, never mind.” She said, as if something dawned on her, “She did this herself, I guess this is karma hittin’ her back for that whole Wheels thing.”  
                Neither of the males could keep a straight face. “Keegan, the only ‘karma’ in this world is the imaginary kind you swear is around your tower.” Alec stated blandly, a smile quirking his lips.  
                Keegan glowered at him. “Yeah?  Well, I can't  _wait_  to see how hard karma hits _you_.”  
                “And by 'karma', you mean  _you_ , right?” Felix teased, pulling her long hair aside and kissing her barcode gently. She continued to glower.  
                Alec took that as his cue to leave. “10 00 hours, we’re moving out.”  
                “Yes, sir.” Keegan all but purred, Felix already teasing a smile from her lips. She barely heard the door close, and Felix was gently laying her back, nipping gently at her throat. “Felix?”  
                “Mmm?” He paused, only long enough to make the sound.  
                Her voice wasn't entirely steady.  “I’m not really ok with you dying out there either.”  
                Sighing, he moved away from her neck, pressing his forehead to hers, their noses brushing. “You know they haven’t been able to kill me yet. Anti-personal mines, missiles, improperly packed c4…” His smile faded. “If I do go down, it’s with you, baby-girl. You’re the only one as insane as I am; if I don’t come home with you, who knows what  _normal logic_  Alec will have you following.” She giggled—something only he seemed to be able to make her do—and accepted the assurance that he had offered. In some ways, Felix thought he was lucky.  Yeah, the whole  _mating_ and random animal instinct things were difficult, but transgenic females were soldiers and didn’t play that bullshit that humans did. He knew as well as she did what the chances of one of them, let alone  _both_ , getting out alive and not infected enough to mutate beyond their healing capacities.  Part of him wanted to tie her to the bed; make it so only one of them risked their life. But, in the off chance his luck was still with him and he made it home, he would probably be killed by his mate herself.  “Now, can I get back to ravaging you? I mean, my CO  _does_  want us doing a kamikaze run in a few hours..”  
                “I think  _you_  should leave orders out of this, and  _kiss_  me already.”  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                “The pieces are moving into position.” His voice was dangerously seductive, and his eyes were obscured by sunglasses. “Hold till 10 45 and then release the Cerberi, working upwards through the BOWs. I do  _not_  want them to realize  _what_  this is.” A smile curved on his cruel mouth. “Initiate Project Chimera.”


	10. Chapter 10

                Max wasn’t sure if it was standing operating procedure to be armed to the  _teeth_  when heading out on a retrieval mission. Then again, when tossing around the words ‘suicide’ and ‘mission’ in the same sentence, maybe it was best. Alec was carefully avoiding her gaze, securing his last holster to his chest before slipping the magnum that belonged there in to it. She was so caught up in watching him, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Felix placed a hand on her shoulder.  “If I can, I’ll bring him back.” His voice was barely above a whisper, “Alec’s an idiot sometimes. Especially when it comes to females; you in particular.” He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze, and moved away, quickly hiding the small smile he had flashed.  He fell silent, looking as if he was doing last weapons check.

                Alec finally looked towards Max. “I…uh…” He frowned, looking lost for words.  
                Max knew the feeling. “Don’t be stupider then you have to be.  _Please_.” Felix’s words had scared her; she  had suspected Alec wasn't going to be keeping his word. At the moment, she was jealous of Keegan, who would be there to make sure Felix came home. She knew that was unlikely any of them would return.  And she felt helpless; she  _was_  helpless.  She also knew she was feeling some strange  _guilt,_ but glancing at Alec, she figured she knew where it was coming from.  The extent that he could influence her mood was a bit unnerving. Now she also was starting to understand his caution.  He looked at her, biting his lip. She couldn’t help it, she had a thing for that tiny, sexy, nervous twitch. She kissed him, trying to convey that she was starting to understand, that Felix had his back more than he knew, that she  _lov_ — She broke the kiss, staring up into his green eyes. “Please.” She reiterated.  
                Alec took a long time to swallow, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Apparently, someone having a window into  _his_  feelings was unnerving the heck outta him. “Uh…I-er…” He clamped his mouth shut and did a military about-face, too frazzled to continue.  
                Max couldn’t help her lips quirking; it was his biggest tell, running off, trying to close that mask. She looked to Felix, who was adjusting his grenades. “Who will be in charge when you guys are gone?”  
                Felix snapped his head up, glancing to Alec and apparently dismissing him as a lost cause. “I forgot you don’t know chain of command. Fuck. Uh, Keema.  _Captain_  Keema.” He amended. “With myself and Keegan heading out, and Misha benched, you'll be reporting to her.” He looked slightly uncomfortable. “Seriously, Alec didn’t explain that?”  
                “He got as far as everyone out here out-ranks me.” Max informed him, frowning slightly. “I really don’t think he likes the fact I’m out here.”  
                “I don't like the fact  _I'm_  out here.”  He teased, giving her a slight smile. “Go report in. It’s gonna be hard enough for him without having to see who he’s leaving behind.”  
                That, at least, she completely got. “Sir.” She said, falling into at-ease before heading off. The ‘military casual’ thing was starting to become second nature; she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.  
               

                                                                                                                ***  
  
                Getting there was almost too easy. It was times like these that Keegan’s words ( _We’re lab rats; expendable._ ) haunted him. But, if Keegan felt unnerved, she wasn’t broadcasting it.  Her emotions were oddly blank to Alec's senses.   Felix was bringing up the rear, Alice on point, Dust, Keegan and himself holding the center. It was typical diamond formation, one they tended to fall into easily. But Alec wasn’t feeling as confident as he should have.   Knowing Max was going to be waiting for him, it was messing with him. Part of him wanted to remain with her but the soldier in him understood that this  _had_  to be done. In fact, it should have been done before now.  
                “We have to take this train in.” Alice said, shoving debris blocking the door. “And then we’re going down, and  _deep_. Who knows what is running around down there, aside from the infected workers. Last time, I didn’t take out nearly enough of them.”  
                Alec took point as they moved into the first car. “I want eyes moving, silence unless necessary. I don’t want to attract anything unsavory.”  
                “Did someone make you promise nothing stupid?”  
                Alec glared at Felix. “Stop your meddling.”  
                “Aw, she  _did_.” he replied, grinning.  
                “Boys.” Keegan chastised, snapping her weapon up at the sound of concrete crumbling. “I think you’re supposed to be otherwise occupied. Don’t make me turn this unit around.”  
                Felix playfully grabbed Keegan, causing her to jump. “Aw,  _mom_.”  
                She swatted at him, “Back on mission, please?”  
                “I second that.” Dust announced, looking spooked. “Can’t you guys hear that?”  
                Everyone paused, listening. At the edge of Alec’s hearing, he caught a sound…flesh scraping against concrete. No one needed his signal to raise arms. “This is going to be one hell of a fight.”  


                                                                                                ***  
  
                “I’m creeped out.” The words escaped Max despite her resolution to keep silent.  
                Thankfully, Keema seemed to understand the sentiment. “Yeah, me too. There’s… _something_  not right.” She shivered, her short hair bristling.  “Feels like something’s about to happen...”  
                There was a blinding pain behind her eyes, and Max fell to her knees, her vision going gray. “Max?” She vaguely heard Keema cry out, but she was already lost to the colors and shapes whizzing in front of her eyes— _Vestments—sunglasses covering red eyes—“Initiate Project Chimera”—cages being released—Alec falling, covered with blood—explosions—can’t-get-out—_ The slap took her by surprise, and she took a gasping breath in.  Her lungs were screaming, she hadn’t been breathing.  
                “Gods! Max!” Keema was staring at her with a look of worry that reminded Max strongly of her sister. “Do you even  _take_  your tryptophan?  _Fuck_.”  
                She felt trembling and weak, and she tasted blood; she had bitten her tongue at one point. “I saw something.”  
                Instantly, Keema was back in her field of vision, her cursory once-over interrupted by those three words. “What?”  Forcing herself not to hesitate, Max relayed the scattered and broken vision. She only hoped Keema could make sense of it.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
                The scraping was getting closer, and Alec looked to Felix, hoping his nose would be able to give them the heads up. Felix gave a small head shake, crinkling up his nose, “There’s too much infected down there.”  
                “ _Fuck_.” Alec quickly double checked his ammo, slamming the clips back into his guns. He then looked to Dust.  
                “Paws. Small-ish. I’d say cerberi; six by my estimation.” Dust announced, cocking her head from side to side. “Should be easy enough.”  
                “Welcoming committee?” Keegan asked, swinging down so she was hanging by her knees from the wire that ran the train magnetically; she had been double-checking the wiring. “Why are they this far up the tunnel?”  
                “That is a very good question.” Alice said, backing up with both guns raised. “And we really should get moving; I’m sensing the infected on a massive level.”  
                “Close up ranks; Keegan, are we online yet?” Alec snapped, looking up.  
                Keegan dropped through the hole in the roof, giving him a terse smile. “You bet.”  
                “Get on point with Alice, just in case someone changed the locks.” She nodded, and Alec turned his attention to Felix. “I need this place to go sky-high. You packing enough?”  
                “Tall order considering we’re heading a mile underground…but yeah. It’s  _me_ , Boss. I’ll MacGyver something if I run out of c4.” Felix announced, grinning.  
                There was  _barking_  now, and the four transgenics froze like the cats in their DNA. Alice rolled her eyes, and smacked Alec. “The dogs are  _dead_ , take them out.”  
                Alec took a deep breath, forcing the fear away. “Start up the train. Shooting gallery time.” There was a way he looked at things when he was on a mission; he didn’t look at his targets as living (or un-dead-ing) things. When the first remains of a Doberman pinscher showed up on his peripheral vision, snarling, he immediately pulled the file on the BOW from the recesses of his mind.  
 _Infected canine, **MA-39 Cerberus** , close range BOW. Best method of termination, wait until subject lunges, fire straight into it’s mouth. Best weapons, handgun, shot gun. Note: MA-39 hunts in packs._  
                He forced himself to go calm, pulling one glock and holding it steady as he used the thin walkway’s rail to keep himself still as the train took off, picking up speed. The cerberi didn’t even slow; with snarls, the first three launched themselves at the train; three handguns fired, three dogs landed on the electrified track, whimpering in their death-throes.  A fourth leapt, and Alec fired a bullet in its mouth just before it clamped onto his arm. He could smell the burning flesh as it fell onto the rails with the others. The last two apparently had some measure of intelligence; they hung back as if knowing the train was too fast for them to catch. The behavior was new, and more than a little unnerving . He shared a look with Alice, before watching the dogs sit patiently on the edge of the platform, before the train turned a corner and he lost sight of them.  


                                                                                                ***  
  
                From behind dark sunglasses, he watched the train pull out of sight. With a smile, he murmured, “Good dogs. Stay.” His vision didn’t shift; the command was obeyed without a second thought.  


                                                                                                ***  
  
                “Does this seem more  _Manticore_  then  _disaster_  to anyone else?” Keegan yelled, slamming the butt of her rifle into a zombie’s face, taking the jaw completely off. “I mean, seriously!” She leapt upwards, grasping an exposed pipe and kicking hard into a dead woman’s chest, caving it in. She landed on her, gun placing a bullet directly between the thing’s eyes.  
                Alec swallowed hard. “Yeah, I got that feeling too.” He already had noticed the steady progression, increasing the difficulty in the creatures they were facing. He had nearly lost Keegan and Dust when the web-spinners dropped onto the train; the two did  _not_  deal well with arachnid-based BOWs. They had encountered the skeleton-like anubises, and even a bandersnatch—a creature designed to be a mass-produced Tyrant.  It had a higher success rate with the human population, but to Alec, it just was gross.  Any weapon that caused  _necrosis_  and  _elephantitis_  in the same creature was a bit too disgusting for his tastes.  
                “This is turning into a highlight reel of Umbrella’s best weapons.” Felix announced, taking aim at a creeping anubis.  With a bam, the creature fell to the ground in a clatter of exposed bones and leaking tissue. “Any bets on which  _Hunter_ -class thing they’ll send? Or maybe the whole line-up?”  
                “Don’t jinx us, 496.” Dust snarled, looking around with her head cocked to one side. “I hear something else.”  
                “Alice?” Alec asked hopefully, not entirely liking the fact the quasi-human had run off, claiming to sense far too massive of an infection for everyone to make it out unscathed. It was as if every female he  _knew_  simply did not get the concept of a  _suicide mission_.  
                “Possibly.” Dust didn’t seem too convinced. “I think I hear something running on metal, but over this mess?”  
                “GO!” Alec snapped his head back to the far tunnel, and to the figure running along a single pipe near the ceiling. He half cursed himself for not noting that particular route the first time he had scanned the room. But there was Alice, utilizing it much as he would have, if a little slower, avoiding the zombies’ reaching hands by nary a foot. “I’ve got it—oof!” Unfortunately, her height put her within easy swinging range of a warped bandersnatch’s arm. The misshapen hand caught her in the mid-section, claws ripping her shirt.  
                “Alice!” He locked eyes with Felix, and his older clone took off, dodging though the infected to catch Alice’s falling form. Alec felt a bullet wing his arm and immediately crouched—Keegan was struggling with an infected human who had clamped on to her gun hand and was worrying it like a dog with a bone. She snarled, shoving her free gun into the thing’s eye-socket and unloading an entire clip. The skull didn’t last past the first two rounds. “Fuck, Keegan!”  
                She looked up, seemingly surprised by the reminder she was fighting with a squad. “ _I missed_?” Her shock didn’t seem to abate the blood-lust she was working on.  She shot another undead, hitting the stomach this time and she stomped on its skull to finish the job. “I  _never_  miss.”  
                Alec stared at her for a second, wondering if, perhaps, they should have left her home. “Felix, Dust.”  
                Dust nodded, frowning with the idea of subduing her own unit leader—and then she was flying backwards into the train car, with Felix standing in her place. “No!  We have what we came for, let’s go.” It was only then Alec took in the fact that, in one hand, he was carrying a metal brief-case, the other he had Alice slung over his shoulder, her blood steadily dripping down his shirt. Felix did  _not_  look like he was in the mood to argue.  
                Alec vaguely wondered when he had lost  _all_  control over his unit. “Fine. Pull out!” Twenty minutes later, and all but out of ammunition, he and his unit hit daylight. It was strange, because he had gone out half not wanting to see it again. Now, it was a breath of fresh air, which he was gulping in to rid himself of the taste of the viruses contaminating every-non-living-thing.  
                Watching Keegan wrap her bitten hand, Alec realized he couldn’t get the taste out of his mouth. And, seeing Keegan’s slip up, he suddenly wondered if he was tasting  _himself_.


	11. Chapter 11

                 Within five minutes of clearing the Hive, Felix hit the button on the detonator on his belt, causing a mushroom cloud to appear in the crater where the Umbrella lab had once been. The sight didn’t comfort Alec as much as he would hope; the entire event felt far too much like a test rather than a mission they had come to on their own. He felt  _played_ , which seriously irked him;  _he_  was the one who did the playing, it was what he _was fucking_  designed for!  
                That, and unusual quiet of Keegan. She had fallen silent barely a minute after leaving the Hive, and now was fussing with her wound, prodding it to keep it bleeding. Her behavior was worrisome, and he started to worry that she was going to go the same way as Frankie.  That wasn’t something he was looking forward to sharing with Felix.  
                “Penny for your thoughts, baby bro.” And just like that, Felix was by his side, peering at him with a rather curious expression. “You look like you’re constipated.”  
                Alec glared at him. “Thanks, man. Lovely.”  
                “Seriously. You’re pondering some deep thoughts, and after a battle, that’s never a good sign.”  
                “Did you catch the cerberi on the platform? The ones that just hung back and watched as the train pulled away?”  
                Felix paused, frowning. “Yeah…there were a few anubises that did that too…Made it real easy to dispatch of.” He sounded thoughtful. “A couple of freaks acting _freakish_  bothers you?”  
                “More than that…they seemed almost…controlled. And I  _swear_ , there’s something up with the Reverend…”  
                “That I agree with, especially with the random acts of sabotage.” He took a longer pause. “And you’re worried about Keegan, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.  
                “You were there. You saw what happened.” Alec glanced at the two females, Keegan still playing with her bleeding hand. “I have never seen her hit something she wasn’t aiming at before.”  
                “It had her hand, dumbass.”  
                “And she hasn't stopped bleeding.  You know she should have.” He sighed, frowning. “…maybe I’m just paranoid.”  
                Felix shot him a sideways glance. “Well stop being so paranoid in my mate’s direction. We don’t know if these barcodes have an expiration date; I plan on making the most of my time here.”  
                Alec stopped, taking in Felix's words. “So why the fuck did you enlist to come out here?”  
                “You know why.”  The grin Felix shot him was feral; Alec could feel himself mirroring it. “I’m a predator. If I’m not living the way I was meant to, that’s not making the most of it. And maybe I got tired of people trying to  _arrest_  me because I made a point.”  
                “Bombs are not points.”  
                “Sure they are.” Felix said, adjusting Alice on his shoulder, “That was my way of saying we shouldn’t support terrorism.”  
                Alec opened his mouth to argue, and then closed it, shaking his head. It was entirely pointless to follow Felix’s logic at times. “Tighten it up!” He called instead, not liking how the perpetual fog was blocking Dust and Keegan from his sight. There was no response. “Dust! Keegan! Tighten it up!” He hated the feeling that was creeping into his gut.  
                Felix apparently had similar sentiments, as he gently lowered Alice to the ground. “Keegan!” There was a distinct growl to the way he called her name, a pitch beyond the scope of human hearing. Very silently, there was an answering call. It was wordless, a keening noise that ended in an echoing yelp, and it didn’t sound human.  Felix took off towards the sound, and Alec would have, too,  if Alice were not laying defenseless. He could tell it was Keegan the very same way Felix could.  “Keegan!” Felix’s scream was broken and harsh; Alec’s mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario, and he bolted towards the noise.  
                Keegan was sitting in a corner, staring at a cerberus with unblinking eyes.   The thing had her wounded hand in her mouth, but was staring back at her with the same fierce gaze.  To her left, Dust was spread out, obviously dead, another cerberus ripping chunks from her torso with some difficulty.  Felix made to dart down, but Alec held him back, keeping him on the higher road, not letting him jump down the ledge. He couldn’t explain it, but it seemed  _very_  important to not break Keegan’s concentration.  
                Keegan’s jaw twitched.   
                The cerberus growled, its jaws tightening, her blood dropping down its muzzle.  “No.” She only spoke one word, and the moment she it fell past her lips, the former dog yelped, and was engulfed in flames  _from the inside out_. “Felix?” Her voice was so weak, Alec let Felix run past him, catching Keegan as she swooned.  Alec jumped down after, checking Dust’s pulse with one hand; there was none, not that he had expected any. There were defensive wounds on her hands, but not anywhere else.  She went down way too easily, because the only other injuries were from the cerberus chowing down.  
                He heard a groan back towards where Felix had placed Alice, and yelled, “Move it. We need to get back to base.” As an afterthought, he yanked Dust’s dog-tags from her neck, shoving them in his pocket. There was no word from Felix, who was already gathering Keegan into his arms, while Alec scooped both Alice and the case up. “Double time, bro.”  
                “Got it.”  Despite their burden, they made it back to base in under five minutes.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Max felt like she was being watched. It was seriously creeping her out. Yet, every time she trusted that prickling on the back of her neck, no one was ever in her vicinity. She felt like someone was laughing at her; mocking her for her inability to see them. And it was pissing the hell outta her.  
                “Looking for something?”   
                She started at the voice, whipping around to see the Reverend standing behind her, his eyes catching the light in a way that almost made them appear red—and then he was shoving his sunglasses back up his nose, giving her a smile that made her feel like prey.  She  _really_  didn’t like being made to feel like prey. “No.”  
                The Reverend’s smile widened. “Did anyone find out who has been opening the windows? It seems such a  _stupid_  thing to do.”  
                Max took an involuntary step backwards. Everything about this man gave her chills. “I—”  
                “You were told you would be informed.” Alec’s voice announced, and Max spun again.  She was shocked to see how bloody and beat up he was, but he was  _there_.  And his eyes were glowing in the half-light. “And you’re not supposed to be out of quarters.”  
                The Reverend bowed his head in a nod of defeat. “I will see you beasts later.”  
                “ _Now_ , Reverend.” His tone was underlined with clear malice. The Reverend only smiled, and started on his way past them.   
                Max was  _sure_  he knew something; people didn’t talk like he had unless they had an inside perspective and a streak of over-confidence. “Wasn’t that strange—”  
                “No!” Alec snarled. She stepped away, surprised at his fury. His face instantly softened. “Max…I’m…” Whatever he was going to say, he seemed to lose his nerve, and, with a slightly panicked glance back at her, he bolted down the hall, calling in some sort of ‘pick-up’ back in the no-man’s land between the Base and where-ever the Hive was actually located. The oddity of his behavior was starting to really pissing her off.  
                “I’m over you already!” She called after him half-heartedly, feeling a just a bit petty. She felt the tiniest bit guilty when she caught him wince as he rounded the corner.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
                “Slow the hell down, Alec!” Felix yelled, jogging to catch up. Alec ignored him. “Fuck, man, don’t you want to know what happened?”  
                He didn't slow his pace.  “The team reported in; Devon said they couldn’t find the body. That’s enough.”   
                “They got a blood sample.”  
                Alec spun on his heel. “Aren’t you just the  _tiniest_  bit worried about Keegan and her last bite?  About her  _turning_?”  
                “Of course I am; I’m just more concerned about what caused Dust to drop dead and becoming puppy chow. On the off chance it has something to do with us being the, what, ten, maybe twelve transgenics in the  _world_  who don’t have the genetic immunity, I’d think you’d be interested in finding out why we're suddenly dropping like flies.” Felix paused, watching Alec change directions yet again. “Where are you trying to go?”  
                “Anywhere but here.”  
                Felix grabbed his arm. “Ok. Med-bay then.”  
                Alec gave a defeated sigh. “We’re tackling the issue with Keegan after.”  
                “ _If_  there’s an issue.” Felix countered.   
                Alec frowned. “I think this is why Manticore discouraged dating.”  Felix flipped him off with his free hand, continuing to drag him towards the med-bay.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
  
                “I don’t know what else I can tell you.” Clinic said, gracing Felix and Alec with one of those  _looks_. “You sent a team to retrieve her body; it wasn’t there. The blood sample they brought back had  _massive_  levels of t in her system. I mean, with Frankie’s progression as example, Dust may have simply dropped dead, no warning. That’s what the virus is supposed to do, right? It overloads you, kills you, than reanimates you.”  
                Alec glared at her, his expression hard. “ _Fine_. What about Max’s blood work?”  
                One blonde eyebrow arced, the other ( _black…someone at Manticore had **seriously**  messed up this X4’s hair pigment_, he thought, idly) was still narrowed in her previous angry expression. “It came back as t-infected. She’s just like the rest of Sandman’s creations.”  
                The statement rang  _false_  in his head, and he tried to get a sense of her emotions. But Clinic was reading as she always did: calm, irritated, with that damned static that he was pretty sure came with all X4s.  Now that he was focusing on it, though, he realized there was more to that static. There was something, almost like a radio turned too low. He didn’t like it, and the more he focused on it, the worse the feeling got.  “Fuck.” He whispered, not trusting himself to look Clinic in the eyes; he was an excellent liar, but he knew what his tells were. “Alright, watch her infection levels, just like the rest of us.”  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Felix bend over Clinic’s desk, peering at something with a deepening frown. “Is that clear, Clinic?” He asked, keeping her attention on him.  
                Bristling at the obvious pull of rank, Clinic forced herself to attention, glaring. “Yes, sir.”  
                Felix flashed him the ok, and Alec nodded, smiling to himself. “Good.” He forced himself to walk so he didn’t give away his urgency to see what Felix had found so interesting. It took him to halfway down the floor above’s hallway until he was sure Clinic wouldn't hear them, and rounded on Felix. “What did you see?”  
                His brother looked especially grim. “Do you remember the last known head of Umbrella?”  
                Alec blinked. “Uh, yeah. Wesker. Albert Wesker.”  
                Felix's frown deepened.  “Thought so. Any reason why Clinic should be  _emailing_  our med records to him?” Alec’s jaw dropped.  Felix nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think that was on her To Do list either. Dust died, but Clinic noted that the t count was through the roof. Max, however…” He closed his eyes, as if bracing himself. “Max had no trace of the virus in her blood. Not only that, but something that seems to be an  _anti-body_  to t. As in Max has an immunity that isn’t just genetic predisposition, like the rest of our species. Which clearly places her as one of Sandman's, but given her perfect DNA and the weirdo etch-a-sketch tattoos, I think she’s that ‘fail safe' he was talking about. But the question is, why the  _fuck_  would Clinic hold that back?”  
                “That is the question.” Alec felt his vision going red. “But to  _fuck around_  with intel on  _my mate..._ ”  
                Felix took a moment, assessing his clone before cocking an eyebrow.  “On  _who_ , Alec? The female you  _dumped_? Pretty haughty to be calling her  _your_  mate when you can’t even look at her—”  
                In hindsight, Alec knew he had been played from the moment Felix had spoken. That unfortunately had no influence on present actions, where he launched himself at his second-in-command, a roar ripping from his throat. Felix looked mildly alarmed at the speed in which he came at him, and took the hit  _hard as_  he was slammed into the wall, sending the two of them crashing into the former apartment. He ducked his head, just dodging a swipe from Alec’s unsheathed claws. And, with a sigh, dropped low, sweeping out Alec’s unsteady stance, and then dropping his full weight onto Alec’s chest, hearing a rib give under his knee.  
                As predicted, Alec tried to shove him off, but Felix used his greater mass to keep himself balanced, both hands pinning Alec’s to the ground. “You busted another rib, Alec, did you feel it?” He kept his tone calm, despite the fact Alec was fighting him. And then he waited for his words to sink in. The sudden realization of  _what_  those words meant froze Alec to the core. Felix gave him another second to make sure he realized the point, and then rocked back to his heels, standing up without putting more pressure on Alec’s abused ribs. “You’re overly  _violent. You_  were the laid-back one during Project Manticore, bro, not me. And I’m getting tired of putting you down every time you come surging at me like one of those creatures we’re constantly fighting.  _And_  you’re absolutely  _fixated_  on 452…Planning on tearing her throat out or infecting her?”  
                For a moment, Felix thought Alec was going to launch himself at him. But his CO curled in on himself, and there was a sound suspiciously like a sob. “Oh fuck, seriously?” Felix dropped back to his knees, this time next to his younger clone. “‘Soldier’s don’t cry’, 494.”  
                “Shut the fuck up. You broke my fucking  _rib_.”  
                “You’re upset cause you’re actually afraid of becoming one of them, aren’t you.”  
                “They just don't stop, and they keep  _coming_ —”  
                “ _Alec_. Answer the  _question_.”  
                Finally, Alec met Felix’s gaze. “ _Yes_ , 496. And you  _know_  that.”        
                He accepted that with a nod. “But until  _you_  admit it, you’re going to be this volatile. And let me tell you, as a receiver of your  _light_  nastiness, it’s not pleasant.” He wiped the blood from his cheek, result of a stray claw catching him. “I can’t imagine how  _Max_  feels.”  
                Alec stared at him for a long moment, trying to get a good read on his brother. “What is up with you trying to goad me?”  
                “Somebody’s got to. You’re a blind idiot.  You fucking love her, and all you’ve done is push her away with your fear that you’re turning into a zombie or mutating into something. You’re running off on suicide missions and  _completely_  ignoring the issue.” Felix sighed. “Alec, you are the  _one_  person on this planet that  _I_  know who it’s like to be. You’re not the only one tossed into Psy-Ops because of 493. Besides, you haven't even tested positive for the gene-virus yet; that's when you start worrying about mutating.”  
                Alec paused, that little tidbit finally registering. “Oh shit. Felix, I-I’m sorry. I forgot.”  
                Felix held up a hand. “Why the fuck do you think I was telling you you’re over-reacting? _Every time_  I’ve gotten injured, I’ve felt my muscles shift and my skin literally crawls. Granted, you got the whole tentacle thing, and I honestly am with you on 'what the hell' there; but is that really worth giving up on Max?”  
                Alec stared at him, raising an eyebrow. “Why are you determined to get the two of us together? You usually let me fall on my face.”  
                “Remember how you felt just last week? With me and Keegan and the whole ‘fighting-today-fucking-tomorrow’ thing?” Alec nodded. “You and Max are worse.”


	12. Chapter 12

                Day was sometimes hard to distinguish from night; it seemed like a darkness hung wherever the virus was, and the virus was  _everywhere_.  Just barely forty-five minutes ago, Misha had come by, warning her not to drink the water; somehow, their supply had been contaminated with the t-virus, and he was heading with Keema to get more. She heard gunshots after that, and had made a mental note to see how many refugees were still alive.  The thought that these humans—men, women, children—were being murdered on Alec’s command, it chilled her. Maybe all this time she was absorbing too much of Logan’s everyone _has to live_  mentality, but the chance of saving people meant something, right? Max hated the uncertainty in her own thoughts. She frowned at the table, trying to force herself to ignore the fading light, and concentrate on cleaning her pistol. It wasn’t that she couldn’t recall how to do it, it was that she couldn’t  _focus_.  
                “Max?”  
                She jumped, looking up. “Oh…uh, Alec.” She glanced down at her still-in-pieces gun, and sheepishly smiles. “Should I stand?”  
                He gave a laugh, smiling in a way that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “If I can’t get the rest of them to follow that, you don’t need to worry.” The grin slid from his face. “Sometimes…I’m an idiot.”  
                That was certainly the last thing she expected to come from him. And she was already talking, before she managed to get her brain engaged; “uh, Sir, yes, sir?” The oddest look crossed his face, and for a second, Max thought that she had stepped too far. And then he fell over, laughing hard enough that tears fell from his eyes. It was contagious too; after a moment, Max felt her own lips quirk, before she ended up laughing just as hard as him.  
                Ten minutes later, her ribs were hurting and Alec was giggling something that sounded like “Ow,ow,ow.”  She caught his gaze, and for one moment, she could see past his guard. There was love there, and some fear, but she  _knew_  he had just been being an idiot. And something told her he knew it now, too. She couldn’t remember moving, but there were his lips on hers, and she was kissing him back just as hard, lying on the cold ground, stomachs aching with the exertion of laughing so hard.  
                It was one of the most romantic moments in her life.  
                “I’m so sorry.” Alec told her between kisses. “I was stupid, I was trying to protect you, and all I did was hurt you.”  
                “I know. It’s ok.” She scooted back, breaking the cycle of speaking and kissing. “Don’t do it again.”  
                “Knowing how much of an  _idiot_  my brother is…” Came Felix’s rather unwelcome voice from the doorway. However, his interruption was apparently urgent, especially when he shot Alec a rather pointed look. “Can I speak to you outside?”  
                She could have sworn Alec’s ears perked. “Max, can I have one minute before I get back to attempting to apologize?”  
                Sometimes, it was like the world just wouldn't give her a break. She smiled at him, a little surprised with how little anger she held about how he had acted. “Go. Hurry back.”  
                “Thank you.” He positively beamed at her, and snuck one more kiss before kipping himself up to his feet and following Felix into the hall way.  
                As soon as he had cleared the doorway, Felix pulled him out of sight of Max, and signed, “ _We have visitors._ ”  
                Alec balked at him. “ _Seriously?_ ”  
                “ _Two humans. One’s wearing a funny leg thing, and the other…_ ” Felix let his hands fall to the side, apparently trying to come up with a descriptive word for the other. “ _She’s a stereo-typical black woman who is possibly the only female I’ve met who started the conversation with ‘Original Cindy don’t feature that’. I think she may be an android; she keeps referring to herself in the third person_.” The exasperation in his signing was hilarious.  
                Alec chuckled to himself at Felix’s description of his onetime co-worker, and Max’s best friend. “No, that’s just OC.” And then  _exactly_  what Felix meant hit him. “Wait, _here_?”  
                “OC’s here?” Max piped in from the other room.  
                Felix rolled his eyes, and looked vaguely annoyed Alec had dropped the code. “Yes, these two humans are here. They showed up while Keegan was torching bodies. For the record, I don’t like the way the android is looking at my mate.”  
                “Felix, if Keegan hasn’t left your overly possessive and jerkish self by now, I doubt you’ll be losing her to a lesbian any time soon.” Alec sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand, the other snaking a cigarette from his vest. “How the fuck did they  _even get_  out here?”  
                “They drove.”  Felix shrugged in response to Alec's expression.  “We confiscated the car the dude was driving. We need someone on border patrol again.”  
                “It’s not like we have anyone.” Alec frowned. “Get them through quarantine, and then  _I_  want to speak with them before they have contact with anyone else.” His gaze hardened. “And double check that we’re getting the correct infection data…I want an eye on Clinic.” Felix nodded, and hurriedly headed back down the hall. Alec glanced after him before heading back into the weapons store, and found himself face to face with Max.  
                “Original Cindy’s here?” She asked, looking both excited and unnerved.  
                Alec awkwardly rubbed at his barcode, taking a drag to avoid having to speak. Max glared at him. And, near instantaneously, he found himself wanting to just tell her everything, and quit smoking. The second he was figuring from temporary insanity; he refused to believe she had  _that_  much sway over him. “Yes. Logan too.” He saw her stiffen, and momentarily allowed himself a little surge of victory. “Max, I’m putting them through quarantine. You can’t see them till their done.” He made sure he was firm on the matter, but he couldn’t help gentling his tone for her.  
                She noticed. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. “I want to see them now.”  
                He shook his head, refusing to revert to being an ass just because she was being difficult. “It’s  _procedure_.”  
                But Max bit her lip…and  _nodded_. “Ok.”  
                He gave her a suspicious look. “As in, you’re going to actually listen to me?”  
                Max sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Every time I haven’t it hasn’t worked in my favor.”  
                He grinned at her, scooping her into his arms and kissing her. “God, I love you.” He murmured, unable to help himself.  
                She gasped, and Alec felt a surge of panic. “Wait…” She started, but Alec knew when to get gone.  
                “I’m gonna go make sure they get through quarantine—”  
                “Alec!” Maybe it was the desperation in her voice, but something stopped him from surging out the door. “Please, don’t run.”  
                He wouldn’t look at her. “I didn’t mean to say it. I  _shouldn’t_  have said it. Not after…” He trailed off, and she felt a surge of relief at his guilt for ending it.  
                She was also frustrated as hell. “This wasn't the first time you said it.” She stepped in front of him, making sure he could see her face, and that she could see his. “I came to a startling realization back at TC; I don’t know what ‘love’ really is.” She caught him start to open his mouth, and she placed a finger over his lips, stopping him. “Seriously, I thought I loved Logan, and…well…” He smiled against her finger, and she was pretty sure he didn’t realize he had let that slip. “I don't know if I can...say it.” She wasn’t sure why, but admitting it now felt like a jinx.  Everyone she cared for ended up worse for knowing her.  She bit her lip, at war with herself despite the fact that with Alec, everything seemed to click in her brain.  
                “Seriously?” Alec was staring at her, looking like Christmas came early, but something was holding him back. She just barely caught the fact he pinched his thigh, trying not to attract her attention. “Seriously, seriously?”  
                “Yes, Alec. I’m not so clear on emotions like you are.” She teased, smiling at him. His face broke into a grin she was sure would light up a football stadium. And, seemingly at a loss for words, he kissed her, pouring all of his passion and relief into it. Max really couldn’t complain; even if he had the words, she still would have preferred _this_  use of his mouth anyway.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
                The med-bay was oddly cold and unwelcoming for something that used to be a hotel conference room. Original Cindy did not like it one bit.  And the transgenic sister that was treating them, Cindy hated her more than the room. Like all X series, she was beautiful, but there was something suspicious in the way she carried herself. It was like she was trying too hard to be fluid and graceful; Original Cindy had her pegged for an X4 if she knew her species of transgenics, but then, why would she be trying to move like an X5?  She hadn’t been nice when drawing blood to test their so-called ‘infection levels’. Original Cindy was figuring there was  _something_  up behind the mismatched eyes of Clinic.  
                The door creaked open, and Original Cindy was pulled from her thoughts, eyes trying to focus in the dim light. Sometimes, she was unnerved by Max and her freaks (not that Original Cindy would ever admit such a thing, and ruin her reputation, no), and this was no exception.  She  _swore_  the eyes staring into the gloom were glowing green, like a cat’s. After a second, Alec stepped into the room, making his features more easily seen. His eyes were still glowing in the half-light.  If Cindy was honest with herself,  _HotBoy_  had been the reason she had started getting the wiggens around transgenics. The Alec she had seen had only barely hidden the animal side under his human mask; she hadn’t lied when she had said he was almost pretty enough to change teams for, but that wasn’t all of it. He  _stalked_  when he was around humans, a feline on the prowl no matter how he tried to shift his stance and gravity center to blend in. It was dangerously alluring, especially tossed in with the easy smile and killer eyes—  
                His eyes were narrowed, but she could  _swear_  they were cat-slit. Vaguely, she wondered were the Alec she had only been marginally frightened of was; the male standing in front of her was drastically different from the cocky, sarcastic one she knew four months ago.   He raised one eyebrow, “Cindy, the way you’re staring at me, I’m startin’ to think you switched teams.” He broke into a familiar—if predatory—grin. “I mean, I know I’m hot and all…”  
                She couldn’t help but smile. “Cindy’s wonderin’ how you managed ta get through the door wit that big ole head o yours.”  
                “Funny, I was wondering something along the same lines.” Alec's expression hardened, and he focused on Logan, who snapped his mouth shut, and seemed to instinctually know something was different in the happy-go-lucky-sociopath.  
                Cindy silently applauded his evolving self-preservation skills. “Alec, Logan isn’t quite to blame for the  _whole_  mess.”  
                Alec held up a hand, not commanding silence, but  _expecting_  it. OC raised an eyebrow, taking in everything she had catalogued since he had entered the room.  _That boy has been holding back since he got loose. Don’t think I want to be around here when he finally breaks._  
                “Logan.” His voice was deeper, more authoritative then the one he had just been speaking in. “Why did you come here?”  
                Logan just stared at him, mouth slightly open, seemingly at a loss for words. Cindy elbowed him. “Oh, ow.” He rubbed at his ribs. “They told me Max was here. I needed to speak to her.”  
                Alec was staring at him like he couldn’t believe the stupidity was hearing. “You  _what_?”  
                Cindy quickly cut off whatever Logan was about to say, interjecting, “Cindy followed his fool-ass here to keep him out of trouble.”  
                “I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Alec growled, his eyes flicking to her in agitation. “Wheels, I don’t know how to say this aside from  _what the fuck were you thinking?!_ ”   
                Logan winced back from the snarl, hands coming up halfway to guard his face. “I had important infor…wait, what did you call me?”  
 _Here it is_ , Original Cindy thought, sliding off the medical cot and stepping back, pressing herself against the wall,  _Logan pushed it too far._  
                “ _Wheels_ , or are you deaf as well as crippled too?” Alec sounded  _furious_. “You just  _roll_  on in to  _Ground Zero_  of the fucking  _plague_  wiping out  _humanity_  because you need to  _talk to Max_! One thing, the nickname is too good for you; Charles Xavier you are not.”  
                Logan stared at Alec, apparently so perplexed his was overriding that little bit of self-preservation he had garnered for himself. “The news said the out-breaks are lessening, and that they have it under control…”  
                “ _Aren’t you the one who tells everyone not to trust the government media_?” Alec bit out through clenched teeth. “We’re  _losing_ , you fucking stupid piece of shit. The infection is calculated to  _wipe out this continent_  within a year!” Alec took a step back, visibly reigning himself in. Cindy could swear he had  _claws_  extending from his fingers. “You have your informant network; you had access to the truth. Are you so obsessed with Max that you can ignore at least three hundred quarantine initiatives, endangering not  _only_  yourself, but  _Cindy_  and the rest of the  _five billion_  humans on this planet? Did you think you’d miraculously remain uninfected when the viruses have seeped into the  _water table_ , contaminating water for twenty miles outside the city? Or did you think those signs didn’t apply to the great  _Eyes Only_?”  
                Only one thing seemed to register in Logan; “Wait, I may be infected?”  
                The expression on Alec’s face would have been fucking  _hilarious_  if Cindy hadn’t been so afraid of him at the moment. “You  _are_ , dumbass.” He tossed Logan a manila folder, an expression of severe disgust marring the usually gorgeous features. “Your labs came back. Congratulations, you’ve got the slow incubating,  _completely_  incurable t-virus. Guess how that’s contracted? Drinking contaminated water.” He tossed something else to Logan. “That’s a journal from a researcher who was exposed through the water up at the Arklay Research Mansion. I think you’ll like the last entry. ‘ _Itchy. Tasty.’_ ”  
                Logan dropped the book with disgust. “That’s  _sick_.”  
                “No.” Alec said, suddenly within an inch of Logan’s face. “What’s  _sick_  is your blind obsession with Max, an obsession, mind you, that caused your infection from yet another incurable virus.”   
                Logan had no response, staring slightly open-mouthed at the still snarling transgenic. Cindy was glad something was finally getting through to him. “I…” He fell silent again, looking away.  
                Alec continued to glare at him for a moment, before he turned to Cindy, his expression lightening. “Thankfully,  _one_  of you knows how to drink from bottled water. Cindy, you’re clear.”   
                For a moment, her heart caught, and an intense relief flooded her system. “Of course. You don’t think Original Cindy would be going down from some virus bitch, eh?”  
                Alec gave her a small smile. “You’d be stubborn enough to fight it.” He sighed. “Max will be down to see you in a bit. Logan, you have to be strapped down for Cindy’s safety, since she still has some more labs to be run.” He stepped back in Logan’s direction, and Logan stood from the table, his exo-skeleton whirring in protest. “Don’t make me do this the hard way.”  
                Yeah, that boy learned nothing. Cindy tried not to laugh as Logan attempted to dodge around Alec, only to be effortless tossed back onto the cot, his wrists strapped and his exo off before he could effectively mount a defense. Not that one would have actually worked.  Alec started towards the door, calling over his shoulder, “Figured the ankle restraints would  _chafe_  so I left them off. It’s not as if I should be expecting you to just get up and walk away without this.” Alec gave the exo a small kick, sending it crashing to the floor. “Say ‘thank you’.” He turned back to the door, and stepped through, closing and locking it behind him.  
                Cindy tried to dismiss the chill, but there had been something so  _wrong_  with Alec’s last words. In the end, she was left with the creepy feeling, and Logan’s complaining.  
               

                                                                                                ***

 

                Max tried to be enthusiastic when Alec had come to inform her she could see Logan and OC, but the boiling  _anger_  rolling off him made her even more apprehensive of seeing her best friend and ex-quasi-boyfriend. She couldn’t help but wonder what happened to make him so upset.  And then he uttered words she had wished he could have taken back: “Logan’s infected. His t-count is through the roof, it’s a matter of hours.” Her response, however, was to let out a laugh. Alec had raised an eyebrow, lips quirking as if he was fighting a smile. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to stand next to him in a lightning storm either.”  
                Max couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing, feeling awful, but unable to prevent the humor from temporarily taking over. In hindsight, she realized it probably was because it just  _was_  so damn unlucky…or stupid. “That’s…” She giggled, while attempting to frown, “not funny!”  
                “Yeah, sure it’s not.” Alec smirked at her. “Anyway, when you sober up, they’re waiting.”  
                It had taken her fifteen minutes to calm herself down, during which she had alternated between laughter and tears, and then she was unlocking the med bay, and stepping inside.  Instantly, she was enveloped in a hug from Original Cindy, who was jabbering into her ear about how glad she was to see her, and was she ok, and just  _what_  was up with HotBoy?  Max couldn’t help but smile at her friend, feeling better, despite the near paralyzing fear that Cindy could be next. The thought broke her happy bubble, and Max found herself scanning the room for Logan.  
                “Hi Max.” He tried to sound smooth, but the effect was ruined by the way he was restrained at the wrists, with his legs half off the table. Max tried not to laugh as she envisioned just how he might have managed to flop himself into such a predicament, and mentally chuckled at the idea of Logan having abs.  She shook her head at the thought, vaguely wondering if he was even still appealing to her. Yeah, he was in good shape—overcompensation for the lack of use of his legs—but, peering closely at his face schooled in to something he clearly thought was adoration, she couldn’t help but notice how  _old_  he was. Part of her shuddered. Some old guys were ok to fantasize about, George Clooney, or Johnny Depp, or that kid from the Star Trek prequels (she still had no idea why someone would make prequels to something like that, especially when they had characters as annoying as that ‘Meesa Jar-Jar’ fucker.); but having an actual relationship with someone that age was, realistically, not going to work out.  Especially given how revved up she was.  “Max?”  
                His voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she gave him a rather forced smile. “Logan. Forgive me if this isn’t the best time for you to drop by.”  
                He looked positively stricken by her pronouncement. “But, I tracked down someone who can cure the virus!” he tried to pull his hands free, but Max knew the restraints were designed to hold transgenics; Logan getting out of there was just as slim as her catching cholera.   
                “Logan, in your  _infinite_  wisdom, did it occur to you that running into the very well-publicized outbreak center, Raccoon City, you would be  _catching another genetically engineered virus_?” She glared daggers at him, forcing her lip not to snarl. “It’s bad enough you risked Cindy’s life; almost justice that  _you_  caught it.”  Cindy let out an audible gasp behind her, obviously shocked by her choice of words. But Max had seriously had enough. “You risk everyone’s life around you…I’m starting to think you feel entitled to because the  _one_  time you put your life on the line, you ended up wheelchair bound. Newsflash, it makes you even more cowardly, since you should  _know_  the risks.”  
                “Max!”  
                Max ignored him, putting a hand on Cindy’s shoulder, and guiding her towards the door. “Come on, you look half starved.”  
                “Dontcha know it, Boo.” Cindy said, giving her a slightly uneasy smile. Max shrugged; she knew her behavior was odd, but Cindy hadn’t seen Logan’s interactions with her since this plague went down. Either way, she knew she was about to have a much needed talk, and the thought warmed her. She even could ignore Logan’s plaintive calls after her.  


                                                                                                ***  
  
                It was uniquely boring being strapped to a gurney unable to move. Logan found himself wishing for some sort of entertainment; even TV, for god’s sake! He was convinced this was Alec’s way of punishing him. Honestly, how was he to know that the water was contaminated? They should be scrambling to find some sort of cure, not leaving him here!  
                And his back was getting ridiculously itchy. It was really starting to bother him.  
                Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his head stood up, and Logan got the distinct feeling he wasn’t alone. He took a deep breath, forcing himself calm; after all, the transgenics seemed to have a thing for sneaking up on him. “I can help you.” Logan quickly looked towards the door, where there was a man dressed in the vestments of a priest, and sunglasses.  
                Logan raised an eyebrow. “How? There’s no cure.” He made sure he sounded as condescending as he could; that was how one survived dealing with people in power anyway, it made them think you had more than them.  
                The priest-garbed man smiled, holding up a vial of purple liquid. “Yes there is.”  
                Logan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”  The man only smiled, coming forward with the syringe.   
                Twenty minutes later, Logan regained consciousness, noting immediately that the itching in his back had lessened. With a smile, he let his head drop back onto the gurney, and just waited for their field nurse to see the results.  _Yeah, just wanted me out of the picture, eh, Alec? Well, we’ll see about that._


	13. Chapter 13

                Max breathed a sigh of relief when Alec said Original Cindy could stay in Max’s private room; the thought of her being in the same area as the Reverend made Max’s stomach twist in a way she didn’t like. However, Alec had gently pulled her aside, his expression unreadable, and constantly glancing towards OC all the while.  “Maxie, we got your blood tests back.”  
                Max looked up at him, surprised.  “Why didn’t Clinic say anything?”  
                Alec’s expression darkened, and Max realized there was something deeper going on.  “Max, you’re immune.”  
                For a second she was going to breathe a sigh of relief, when she realized he wasn’t quite done.  “Why are you saying that like it’s a bad thing?”  
                “No, no.  It’s not a bad thing…I don’t think.”  He sighed, looking lost for words.  “Transgenics in general have a natural immunity; it acts as if we evolved a tolerance to it.  As you know, there are several exceptions to the rule, namely the ones Sandman fucked with.   _You_ , however, have more than the anti-bodies regular transgenics have; your body neutralizes all traces of the virus from your system.  This means, Max,  _you_  are the cure.”  He couldn’t hold her gaze.  “Apparently Sandman was trying to warn us in case Umbrella lost containment.  You’re a living outbreak detector.”    
                Max stared at him, struggling to understand  _exactly_  what this meant.  It was a good thing, at least, it sounded like a good thing, but Alec didn’t sound happy about it. She had just formed a coherent question in her head when what felt like an electric shock ripped through her body.  She cried out, clutching at her head, struggling to keep her vision past the gray threatening to over-power her.  
                Alec was right there, holding her upright, yelling for Original Cindy to stay in the room, it was just a seizure, thought Max could tell he was lying through his teeth.  OC apparently thought so too; Max could just barely make her out beyond the gray in her vision, arguing with Alec to get to Max’s side.  And then she was  _falling…_  
                _Dead-dead-dead-dead-things-everywhere! No-where-to-run-no-where-to-hide! Glowing eyes, laughing at her—move-now! Don’t-stop-running! Logan, falling to his knees, crying out—Don’t-leave-me! Gunshot, blood against her face— **Alec!**_  
                Her vision started to return, and to her surprise, Alec wasn’t over her.  Groggily, she tried to sit up, the sounds of the room just starting to filter in—  
                Gunfire.  She froze.  Tilting her head up, she caught sight of Alec firing at something trying to claw it’s way into the window…the window that was supposed to be boarded up.  The wrong-ness chilled her to her core.  A moment later, there was a sickly wet thud, and a severed arm came to rest next to her boot.  Max took that as her cue to get up.  “Cindy! Get back from Alec!  You can’t let those things bleed on you!”  She yelled, struggling to find her balance as she shoved herself to her feet.  Cindy, perhaps at the idea of suddenly being in the middle of a war well out of her league, got behind Max, carefully taking aim with the hand gun Alec had tossed to her.  
                “Since when does your boy have  _claws_?”  Cindy asked, looking back the second she was sure she had hit her intended target.  
                Max wasn’t surprised with Cindy’s efficiency with guns; when she had met her in LA, Cindy had been running with a gang, and well versed in defending herself if need be.  “He hasn’t been entirely clear on that.”  She already had her pistol out, and was carefully taking aim; she hated how she shook when she got nervous.  She fired.  
                Alec snarled, the bullet grazing his arm but taking out the zombie dead between the eyes.  He looked up to her, about to say something, when Felix burst into the room, somehow managing to cast a disapproving look at Cindy while snapping a half-hearted salute.  Alec waved it off, “Cindy doesn’t care, she’s practically one of us.”  
                “Oh.”  Felix shook his head, seemingly clearing it of any prejudice.  “Full onslaught down stairs.  Something’s going on, they’re past our defenses.”  
                “Keegan radio in?”  
                “She’s on the Tower, under attack from swarms of crows, and lickers are already climbing up.  I advised her to pull back.”  There was a flash of flame outside the windows, too high and too hot to be anything other than a pyro-kinetic.  Felix looked like he was fighting the urge to bolt down to her with everything he had.  
                Alec waved him off, looking at Max.  “Go with him.  I’ll get Cindy to the refugees.”  
                Max looked torn, but Felix was already bolting down the hall, and she hurried to catch up, shouting an apology to Cindy as she booked it.  “Felix, wait up!”  
                “You’re about to go up against a bandersnatch, you know what that is?”  Felix didn’t wait for her response as he jogged down the hall.  “Supposed to be a better Tyrant, but half of the host mutates with elphantism, the other half withers from necrosis.  Ugly, stinking creatures that can rip you to shreds while plugging you through a wall.  We got four of them at our front door.”  
                Max forced herself to keep running forward.  “What do you want me to do?”  
                Felix snorted, barely glancing at her as he ripped open the doors to the main lobby.  “You’re getting to the med lab and locking yourself in.”  He gave her a shove towards the other hall.  “I’m not getting Alec’s mate killed.” She barely had time to register his words when Felix yelled, “Shit!” and tackled her to the ground.  Max glared upwards, only to see a large, mal-formed hand come crashing down where they had just been.  “New plan, get back and keep your eyes open for a chance to get to the med-bay!” He launched himself at the disgusting thing, firing his machine gun.  
                “I can do more than just look!”  Max called after him, attempting to draw her gun.   
                “I'm sure you can, Max!”  Felix yelled, dodging one of the large swinging arms.  “But for now, I’d focus on the bandersnatch!”  
                Max took that as her cue to join in. She started forward, firing as steady as she could.  The bandersnatch snarled at her, turning to face her with distorted features seemingly trapped in a world of endless pain.  Vaguely, she wondered about the poor humans used as subjects to create these monstrosities; did their families know where they were?  
                A burst of flame cut off her route, and Max looked towards the entrance, where the fire had come from.  Keegan was standing there, looking disoriented, and randomly catching her arms on fire.  The moment something came towards her, she instinctively let the flames burst higher, not caring if it was friend or foe.  Max ducked another bout of flames, this time firing at the bandersnatch, who had been caught in Keegan’s last burst.  It winged it’s shoulder, and she took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain still as she exhaled all of her air, using the moment of absolute stillness to fire a perfect shot between it’s eyes.  She barely had time to reload when another was swinging it’s arm around, nicking her arm with the barest tip of a claw.  She ignored the pain, willing herself back to that stillness, firing another head shot.  It blinked at her, and then roared.  Apparently, the fire had weakened the other one.  She had to dodge again and fired into the back of it’s skull. Whatever face it had been parodying was gone, and the thing sagged forward, it’s body already disintegrating in response to whatever necrosis was eating it.  
                It was suddenly very cold, and Max felt herself attempt to curl into a ball to protect herself from the chill.  It was odd, considering what her cold tolerance was.  She turned around, noticing for the first time that Felix had made it to Keegan.  But, considering the rest of the unit’s speculation, it  _couldn’t_  be happening.  Felix was supposed to be pyro-kinetic like Keegan!  Which did not explain the fact he was exuding a chill that was causing the condensation in the air to freeze, effectively putting out the fires that Keegan had been setting.  When he pulled her into a hug, Max heard the hiss of steam.  Since when did anyone have  _cryo-kinesis_?  
                All around her, there were dead, and the remaining unit sans Alec were attempting to pick themselves up and pull themselves together.  The whole scene made her feel like she had stepped into a war movie.  Felix was moving away from Keegan, who was unconscious, and frowning at the door.  He stepped forward, peering closely at something along the hinges.  “This doesn’t look right.”  
                Max frowned at him, just as Alec burst into the front hall, bloody, and looking frantic.  “Felix!”  
                “If you’re thinking sabotage, I’ve got signs of it too.”  Felix announced, not looking away from the hinges.  “And someone who’s had time to figure out how to hit us, but not overwhelm us all at once.  They were  _testing_ us.”  
                “Wesker has to be here.”  Alec said, helping Misha to his feet.  “I want everyone to double and triple check identities.”  After giving Misha a once over, he gave him a small shove in the direction he had come from.  “Now.  Take Keema.  Devon, I need you to sweep the med-bay for anything that may be aiding a saboteur.”  
                “Why—”  
                “Just do it!”  Alec turned away, glancing at Keegan, who was stirring on the floor.  “Max, I’ve got radio contact from Alice.  She’s found another group of survivors, and she’s taking them out of the city.  I convinced her to swing by here before they head out. I’m having them take the remaining refugees, and Cindy, and get them out.  This place isn’t safe anymore.”  
                “How was it ever safe before?”  Max couldn’t help the question that slipped from her lips.  Alec, however, just gave a resigned sigh and started back up the stairs, Felix already gathering the bodies left for burning.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
   
                The silence was bugging her.  She knew where Alec was, knew he was doing absolutely nothing.  So why the hell wasn’t he jabbering on like he usually would in this situation?  Max spared a sidelong glance at Alec’s still form, seemingly lost in thought.  Pensive and foreboding Alec was new, and didn’t mesh with any of the sides she had seen previously of the man, if she was honest with herself, held her heart from the moment he had asserted himself as a regular in her life. “Alec?”  
                He looked at her, his eyes flickering in the light, shifting between the usual green, and the eerily reflecting shade as the single candle he had placed in front of him danced to air currents too soft to feel. She was about to speak again when he pressed a finger to her lips, moving so he was kneeling in front of her.  “Can you just…?” Max swallowed hard, and wrapped her arms the best she could around him, and he rested his head and part of his weight against her, arms wrapped tightly around her middle.  After a moment, she realized he was whispering something.  Another second of hard listening, and she realized it was one thing over and over again:  _I’m sorry_.  
                Words failed her when she realized how much pain he was in, and she tilted his head up, begrudgingly breaking his contact as he sat on his haunches to better peer at her face.  Lips met lips in a passionate kiss, Max pouring everything she felt into it.  Alec understood; his kiss answered her worries and explained some of his own.  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why they didn’t try to kiss everything out.  
                And he was moving, rising to an awkward half crouch that ultimately ended up toppling both of them back onto his sleeping cot, lips still not breaking contact. Hands wound under clothes, articles were shucked, wounds were gently explored, mapped.  Max found herself naked, being thoroughly kissed by an equally nude Alec.  It was like a bolt of lightening; her blood felt like it was boiling under her skin, her flesh heating, sweating.  As Alec inhaled, she caught his pupils dilated with lust, and he was kissing her with everything he had, rubbing himself against her.  
                She shifted her hips, catching him just right and impaling herself on his cock.  Alec grunted, hands gripping onto the cot’s frame as she moved; screeching metal momentarily startled her, until Alec snapped his eyes open, under control again, and began to move.  Every thrust was heaven, hitting that deep part inside her, the base of his penis rubbing against her clit deliciously.  It was hot, it was fast, and she exploded, feeling as if part of herself had latched on to something as she did so. But she didn’t have time to revel in her orgasm, as Alec had hit fever pitch, and she was already coming again, this time her scream mingled with Alec’s as he joined her.  
                She panted, rubbing her cheek against Alec’s shoulder, and he leaned down, kissing her gently.  Even that move sent sparks flying through her.  “Alec…do you feel…different?”  
                He bit his lip, eyes looking somewhere in the rooms top, left corner as he mentally catalogued himself.  The process was somewhat eerie to watch.  “Yes.”  He said, simply, eyes shooting back to her.  “The question is, are you going to freak or not.”  
                Part of her already knew.  “We’re…mated.”  
                “Kinda think we were three-quarters of the way there already.”  He sounded slightly worried.  
                Max hid her smile, and launched herself at him again, catching him by surprise with another passionate kiss.  “Good.  Now I don’t have to worry about all those girls who follow you around.”  
                Alec stared at her in shock for a long moment before a smile twitched in the corner of his lips.  “Nope.  I think you’ve shown me the error of my ways.”  Max chuckled, and slid out of his grasp, moving to get dressed.  Behind her, she heard Alec doing the same.  “You know, though,”  He said, thoughtfully, pulling on his BDUs, “I was only ever with those girls because I couldn’t be with you.” She fumbled her bra clasp. “Here, let me get that.”  She instinctually started to move away, but that put her in a rather tight, and awkward position, as Alec already had both ends of her bra in his hands.  “I know the way these are supposed to work.”  He added with a wink she caught out of the corner of her eye.  Seconds later he was stepping away, hand trailing along her back.  “And I don’t plan on being anywhere else when you need help.  Realistically speaking.”  
                Max waved him off…at least until she caught sight of the cot’s frame.  Staring at the twisted metal, she laughed, and swatted Alec’s arm, saying “God, I can’t do you anywhere.”, which promptly made him lose the ability to keep a straight face, and he ended up joining her. Half of her couldn’t believe she was daring to laugh in such a dire crisis.  The other half shushed that part quickly. After all, how much time left did they really have?  
                   
                                                                                                ***  
   
                The room was hot. Logan hated quarantine because it was so hot.  And boring.  Logan was bored.  Vaguely, he wondered if this was how Alec felt most of the time, but he didn’t dwell; the man—transgenic—had already stolen his girl, why did he care what he felt?  
                And he was fucking  _itchy_.  
                He scratched the best he could, still upset by the restraints trapping his arms.  However, his nail caught on something, and, with irritation, he scratched at the spot.  Something fell away with a wet noise. “If you have bugs…”  Logan threatened to no one, before looking down at his rucked up t-shirt.  A chunk of purple-ish wet  _something_  was on the gurney next to him.  A matching hole in his side was visible if he craned his head.   _His skin was falling off._ “SOMEONE!  HELP!”  Logan started hyper-ventilating.  He knew, logically, what happened if one was exposed; he read the reports of the horrible flu-like symptoms before people dropped dead.  Nowhere, in anything, had they mentioned  _necrosis_.  
                “Wheels is yelling.”  He heard Alec’s voice say from outside.  “I figured he probably wanted you.”  
                “Thanks.”  That was  _Max_.  Logan had the intense urge to hide the wound, to not let her see the disgusting disease taking hold.  It was too late.  The door swung open, and in stepped Max followed closely by—not Alec, like he had expected—the raven-haired 496.  Logan had disliked the transgenic on principal for looking like Alec; the male had obviously sensed this, and only had given his designation as a greeting.  
                As soon as Felix passed through the doorway, he made a face like he was fighting keeping his lunch down.  “I need to leave.”  
                Even Max was wrinkling her nose.  “I can’t imagine how you can stand to smell that.”  She said, sounding disgusted.  “Your nose is a curse.”  
                “The scent of rotting flesh?  Yeah, curse.”  Felix dodged out the door.  
                “ _Rotting_?”  Max shrilled, and she turned to look at Logan, her expression horrified.  “Oh god, Logan, why didn’t you say something sooner?  We could have had Clinic put you out for this!”  
                The matter-of-fact way she presented this was the last straw.  “I  _want_  a  _cure_ , Max!  I want—”  He was still trying to speak, but his voice wasn’t working for some reason.  He tried to sit up, feeling like his airway was blocked.  Max took a step back, her expression now horrified.  “Max?”  His voice sounded horrible, and the itching and burning was worse.  
                “I need to get Clinic.”  She said, following Felix’s path.  
                Logan frowned, calling out “Don’t leave me!”  Despite the fact he knew it was pointless.  Sighing, he looked down at his shirt, trying to figure out what had sent Max running. It really wasn’t too hard to figure out; his shirt was moving in an unnatural way, black worm-like things sprouting from the wound on his side.  
                The scream that followed was rather justified, if he thought so himself.


	14. Chapter 14

                 The commotion was something she was used too; she had been used to it within hours of reporting to Ground Zero. Max was not prepared for this. As she had slammed the door on Logan’s cries, she had caught Felix being physically sick in the corridor. She had known the smell was awful, but Alec’s older brother had a cast-iron stomach as far as she had seen—his inability to deal with it freaked her out in a way she wasn’t aware she could feel. And to make matters worse, Felix had managed to put the call out before succumbing to the urge to regurgitate his entire breakfast  _and_  lunch. Seconds after she had slammed the door, Alec had been running down the hall, Clinic next to him. He had shouted something at her, and Max hadn’t known what to respond, and he had shoved past her, pausing at the door to brace himself.  
                She would have gone in after him, but Misha, Devon and Keema had followed him, Devon with a restraining arm on Keegan, who looked as if she had no idea why she was there.  _That_  prompted a whole new scenario, as Felix took one look at the trio apparently holding his mate and lost it. She managed to just avoid being hit by Devon’s boot as her biological brother was sent flying into the wall behind her. But he didn’t stay in the wall. No, because something in the medic threw  _Alec_  at apparently the same section of wall. And with more velocity, as Alec’s trajectory shifted the momentum of Devon’s.  
                “ _Felix!_ ” She had no idea where the shrill, freakishly authoritative voice came from until she registered that the four fighting (and even the out of it Keegan) froze, looking in her direction. “There’s something  _in there_  which I think is a bigger problem!”  
                “No, Max!” Alec yelled, blurring from his spot on the floor against Devon and yanking Max away from the hole in the wall. It was too late.  
                Max stared in horror at the tableau in front of her. Logan had fallen from the gurney, his hands slipping through the restraints now that the flesh had practically melted off his wrists. His lower body had engorged, swelling in a lumpy, unnatural way, and there were tentacles whipping the air from her former love’s ribcage. As she watched, muscles and flesh bulged and grew in explosive intervals, all the while with a kind of ringing noise she couldn’t quite place. And then she saw Logan’s still normal-looking face.  
 _He was screaming._  
                Max wasn’t pleased to know she had been right in her assumptions of agony in the previous BOWs she had seen; she never would have wished this on her worst enemy. The ground was suddenly rushing up to meet her, and she felt someone roughly grab her from behind and hand her off to equally strong hands. One glance up told her it had been 49-s; Alec was holding her tight to him, while Felix was cocking his gun. His lips were moving, as were Alec’s…  
                “Just do it before she snaps out of it!” Alec was yelling.  _It?_  In the back of her mind—which had gone a blissful gray—she realized this was something really important and shoved back the shock that threatened to overcome her.

                “No!” She made a gallant lunge, but Alec kept his hold on her; she was alarmed that his claws had caught her clothes as she struggled against him.  
                “Felix! Now!”  
                “Fuck me.” Felix shot a backwards glance at Keegan as if to make sure the rest of the unit was far away from her, and then he yanked up his bandana and leapt into the room. Only to go the way Alec had not five minutes previous. “Clinic! Something to sedate the fucking bastard would be nice!” Felix yelled, gagging behind the cloth over his face. There was only Logan’s continued screams. “Clinic?”  
                “That fuckin’ X4 is so dead after this.” Alec snarled, depositing Max with Misha and a sharp, ‘Stay’, before he dodged back towards the hole in the wall.  
                “Clinic’s X5…” She heard Misha mutter, before realization dawned on him. A second later it hit her too, and she dodged around Misha’s leg, attempting to go after Alec, but Misha apparently had recovered some speed. “No! Stay here, Max!”  
                “She’s a spy! She’s psy-ops and had us all thinking she was one of us!” Max screeched, surprised with her sudden species-ism.   Misha didn’t relinquish his hold on her, and she could only stare into what used to be the med bay…  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Alec was far from cold-hearted, and seeing his rival on the ground, writhing, mutating sent pangs of sympathy and guilt through his head. It also was unnerving, as water exposure didn’t cause mutation.  
                Felix yet again came flying back towards the wall, and Alec ducked to avoid being taken out by his older brother. “What the fuck is he throwing us with?” Alec demanded, hoping Felix had maybe caught a glimpse of Logan’s rearranging anatomy whilst in midair.  
                “Tentacle trajectory doesn’t match, and the ones on his side are too tiny and underdeveloped; give them an hour, though.” Felix said darkly. “But right now? It’s not what's left of Wheels tossing us like we’re nothing.”  
                “Smart boys.”  
                Alec and Felix snapped up their guns, startled and pissed because of it; no one snuck up on either of them unless they happened to be Keegan. The good Reverend was standing just behind Logan’s cot, easily holding the mutating man in his arms… no, not arms. Alec blinked trying to comprehend the absolutely normal looking man in front of him, and how he was holding Logan up with ease  _in his tentacles_.  
                “Ok,” Alec said, shifting his aim slightly, “I need to get your tailor. Hiding those things is a damned good feat.” Beside him, Felix smirked.  
                The Reverend just smiled evilly at them, and used one hand to slid his sunglasses off; his eyes glowed red. “Such a smart mouth, 494. Will it still be as clever when your brain is nothing but mush, and you’re tearing your girlfriend’s throat out?” Alec swallowed hard. The glasses covered his freakish eyes again. “I thought not.”  
                “Why the fuck are you here, Wesker?” Felix snarled, all pretense of humanity gone.  
                The man who had fooled them all just smiled. “ Ah, Felix, no hello?” He laughed.   “I’m helping your friend here. He seemed to think you were holding the cure hostage until he gave up on…Max was it? The immune one.” His smile turned vicious. “G-virus  _is_  a cure of sorts…”  
                “You’re trying to make him part of the Nemesis Project?” Alec laughed, ignoring Logan’s stunned and outraged exclamation (though the fact he still made that same noise kind of made Alec hate him more). “Wouldn’t legs be beneficial for that?”  
                “Ashford discovered the flower while searching for a way to reverse the cell degeneration in his legs and spine. Imagine how well it will work on a simple spinal injury?”  Wesker continued to smirk, “Didn't you do your resear—”  Wesker’s glasses shattered, and his head snapped back.

                Felix and Alec spun to see Keegan just behind them, her .45 leveled calmly at Wesker. “I will never understand the need for  _banter_  instead of just  _killing_  the bad guy.” She lowered her gun, a smile starting to spread over her features, when it suddenly shifted to a look of abject terror.  Felix and Alec could only stare in horror as her arm raised itself again, and the trigger was trembling as the muzzle dug into her temple.  
                “Keegan, what the fuck?!” Felix was white, starting to move towards her.  
                “I’ll make her pull the trigger if you move.”  Alec turned slowly, feeling as if he was trapped in a horror movie. Wesker was standing behind them, wiping a small wound in his forehead with an embroidered handkerchief. He smiled easily, dropping Logan, and wrapping his tentacles back around himself. “You see, when Umbrella asked me to be a part of their research, they knew I was already working on becoming the premier proto-type for human-like BOWs. We never knew that Sandman built the eighty-five percent kill rate to  _prevent_  people like me from existing…people like your Alice, people like  _you_.” His smile widened, and he casually looked towards Keegan.  The safety was slid off by a trembling finger, and she whimpered. Felix made a motion like he was trying to move and stop himself at the same time. Alec grabbed the back of his belt, not wanting to provoke Wesker into making Keegan…  
                “So Sandman was the quite hero. Bully for him.” Alec snipped, trying to make himself Wesker's center of attention. “I’d love to know how you’re supposedly making my sniper put a gun to her head.”  
                Wesker tsked him. “The stronger of you bond with the t-virus, the more control you have over lesser infected beings.” He snapped his fingers, and two cerberi burst through the un-barricaded windows behind him. Alec winced at the noise and appearance of the dogs, but held his chin up defiantly. “The fact I can control her means the mutation is almost complete. I’m doing you a favor, so neither of you would have to do this yourself.” And he snapped his fingers.  
                The gun in Keegan’s hand exploded, and Felix dove forward, a primal cry torn from his throat as he dropped to catch his mate.  Alec forced his attention back to Wesker. “Do you have a point you’re trying to make?” He kept his voice as unconcerned as he could; Wesker couldn’t know he was getting to him.  
                Wesker’s grin lost any humanity that may have been there. “Umbrella decided that Project Chimera has too lackluster results to move to mass implication of the BOW. You’re unit is to be terminated and autopsied, to be filed with the rest of the project notes.” He reached into his pocket, and tossed a photo in Alec’s direction. He caught it without hesitation. “I believe you called that one Dust?”  
                What had been a beautiful transgenic was literally sawn in half, her organs being removed and weighed… but Dust was not flat on the table. Alec’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not dead.”  
                “Oh, she’s quite dead.” Wesker’s face couldn’t contain more twisted glee. “Infected transgenics can be resuscitated much more easily than humans. They revived her twelve times before the virus decimated the electrical charge in her body.”  
                Alec heard movement behind him, and waved the rest of the unit back with his free hand. “Is this what you’re going to do to us?” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so broken, so…child-like.

                Logan cried out with the sound of crunching bone, and Wesker momentarily glanced backwards at the miserable quasi-human. Max barely caught the meaningful look Alec tossed her way before he was gone from the wall, and charging Wesker.  
                Wesker glanced back towards Alec a microsecond before the transgenic impacted against the BOW’s chest. He barely had time to get his hands up before Alec was unloading clip after clip into the man’s chest, ignoring the dogs which were slowly separating their heads  _length-wise_  and coming towards him.  
                And then the dogs were down, as Misha launched himself from the entryway, knife in hand, and, with a war cry, tackled the dog, whose entire head had opened to snap off an arm.  Max made to run forward, but Keema was suddenly there, yanking her arm, and pulling her towards the stairwell. “No! Alec’s gonna get himself killed!” Max screamed, fighting against Keema with more force, as the whole situation clicked into place.  
                Keema shoved her against a wall, knocking the air from her. “No, Max.” Her voice was soft, despite the wave of noise coming from behind them. “Alec made me swear if we lost our line to get you to the rendezvous, any means necessary.” Max scoffed at her, and tried to move again—there was a sharp pain at the base of her head, and she barely got it turned enough to see Keema move in to catch her. “I’m sorry, little sister, but you won’t leave any other way.” It was the last thing Max heard before it all went black.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Alec couldn’t see anymore. Somewhere in this death-match, Wesker had taken a swipe at his face that he hadn’t dodged well enough. He was pretty sure he wasn’t missing an eye, but it made it all the harder to fight either way. Especially since he heard Devon and Misha charge in, and Felix was already back on his feet, keeling for his mate while firing like mad at the dogs.  There was foul breath on his face, and Alec got the distinct impression Wesker was grinning at him barely centimeters away. “If you’re gonna kiss me, I’d rather be dead first.” He snarled, slamming his forehead into the bridge of Wesker’s nose.  The head of Umbrella cried out, and dodged backwards, tentacles lashing out. Alec gladly took the hit, having some sick satisfaction that he had managed to bust the guy’s pretty face. And then something latched onto his arm, and he felt the tips of his fingers hit something warm and vaguely acidic. He snapped his eyes open despite the pain, and yanked his hand out of the not-cerberus’ mouth. “Nice pets. Not too fond of the whole head splitting thing.”  
                Wesker gave a dark chuckle. “Our latest development. They are infected with a parasite found in South America, and then exposed to the t-virus. Quite ingenious.” He launched his tentacles at Alec, who didn’t have time to blink. The force of the impact knocked him back a foot, but Alec stayed on his feet. He was surprised, and then he looked down. Blood dribbled from his lips as he realized the tentacles hadn’t stopped at his body.  
                Somewhere behind him, someone was screaming. But all Alec could do was stare down at the three thick spikes that were holding him up, that were  _through_  him. He glanced back up, determined that this was some sort of hallucination. Wesker smiled at him, and yanked, somehow withdrawing the tentacles back into himself. Alec coughed, spattering Wesker, before his legs gave out and he fell heavily to his knees.  
                “ _Not my brother!_ ” Felix had produced a machete from somewhere in his overly stocked gear vest, and came down heavily on the retreating tentacles.  
                Wesker screamed as they parted company with his body. Whirling, he snarked his lip. “Ah,  _you_ again.”  
                Felix’s eyes narrowed. “Yes,  _me_.”  
                Wesker chuckled, despite the apparent pain he had been caused. “So eager to join your mate and brother?”  
                A dangerous, grim smile snaked across Felix’s features. “I’m not the one joining them.”  
                The manic grin must have unnerved Wesker enough that the man lost his smile, and turned, carefully regarding the raven-haired transgenic. “Arrogant as well as stupid.  You haven't killed me yet.” Felix held the gaze steady. “And now you think you can suddenly take me on?”  
                Felix's grin widened. “Nah, but that incendiary grenade and c4 I shoved down your coat should.”  
                Wesker’s face had the most amusing expression before he was suddenly enveloped in flames and a bright flash of white light. Felix guarded his eyes, already moving to Alec’s other side, gently lifting him with Devon’s help. Misha had already scooped Keegan into his arms, and the three of them egressed as quickly as they could manage.  
                Their reunion with Keema was silent, as the female (with Max slung over her shoulder), guided them out of their safe haven, deeper into the hot zone.   
                No one said a word.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Death was something every X5 was familiar with. It was usually something that was barely acknowledged before moving on; another soldier dying the way they were meant to. It had a certain poetry that Alec had always found comforting. That being said, wasn’t pain supposed to  _lessen_  as one,  _went towards the light_?  
                “I don’t think this is the light they meant, little bro.”  
                Alec forced his eyes completely open, now blinking away the spots that had burned into his retinas. Apparently, he had been staring at a desk lamp. “Well, that’s not heaven.”  
                Felix followed his gaze, chuckling. “Far from. But you wouldn’t be heading there anyway.”               
                Alec laughed, and then winced as the pain hit him again. “I thought I was dead.”  
                “You were.” Alec snapped his gaze back to Felix, his attempts to sit up paused. “Max insisted that you had a chance, and gave you a transfusion, despite the fact your heart had stopped and you were missing pieces of several organs. Fifteen minutes later, your blood pressure is up, and you’ve got a new kidney.”  
                Alec cocked an eyebrow. “You’re kidding about the kidney thing, right?”  
                Felix ignored him. “Your Max has some special blood.”  
                That statement took longer to process then Alec would have liked to admit. “Yeah, I guess she does.”  
                “Well, hematology was never my thing anyway.” Felix dropped on to the foot of the bed, and sighed. “Why the fuck did you charge him anyway?”  
                Alec, too, had been asking himself the same question. And then the distinct lack of a certain presence clarified it. “Keegan! Oh gods, Felix!”  
                Felix held a hand up, preventing Alec’s sudden outcry of sorrow. “Easy. I told you, Keegan never misses.” A smile spread across his features. “Grazed herself, but she managed to fight her hand far enough away to prevent anything more then a concussion and some burns. Maybe some fucked up hearing.”  
                It felt like a weight had been lifted. “And everyone else?”  
                Felix grinned at him in a knowing way. “Don’tcha mean ‘Max’?” His expression soured through. “We made it, barely. Misha is pretty bashed up. Keegan’s coughing up blood, and Devon is concussed, but I’m pretty sure he was before this battle.” He glanced around, before leaning closer to Alec. “Wesker’s still out there. I shoved some c4 and one of those incendiary rounds from the grenade launcher into his shirt, and it definitely went off…but a  _head-shot_  didn’t take him out.”  
                “You’ve completely ruined my good mood  _and_  managed to not tell me about Max.” Alec complained, attempting to lighten the mood.  
                Felix rolled his eyes. “Max is waiting outside. I told her I was making sure you were healing fine. I didn’t think you were going to make it.”  
                “I’m always alright.” Alec announced, swinging his legs off the bed. Felix made to stop him, but, when Alec was as steady as ever on his feet, refrained. “Damn. I feel like a new man.”  
                “Don’t push it.” Felix chided him, gently pushing him on the chest. Alec lost his balance and fell back onto the tiny cot. “You’re not back to a hundred yet.”  
                There was a long pause… and Alec swallowed, manning up for the question he knew he had to ask. “Is Logan…?”  
                Felix looked away. “I don’t know how mutating specimens hold up to grenades, but a Nemesis rarely goes down with one. I’m inclined to believe he made it out. Probably more mutated then before.”  
                “Fuck.” Alec took a deep breath, then pushed himself to his feet again. “Ok, I need to see Max, and then we’ll come up with a plan of action, eh?”  
                “I doubt we’ll have enough time. I pissed Wesker off bad,. And he seems petty to me, not sure why.” Felix allowed a small grin. “I need to check in on Keegan and Misha anyway. Give Maxie my love.”  
                Alec waved him off, and watched as he moved to the other two cots in the large conference room. Apparently, their habit of choosing hotels and apartment buildings had still rung true. Alec made a mental note to shave off some ‘time’ they had; patterns can be followed.  He paused at the doorway, just watching Max, who had fallen into a light doze in a dilapidated couch she had apparently dragged into the hallway from another room on the floor.  
 _Stay and fight or get back home, mount a bigger offensive._  The thoughts chased each other through his head as he made his way to where the one woman he wanted was resting.  _I can’t let this happen to more people._  He brushed an errant strand of hair from her face. His resolve hardened.  _No, I’m ending this. For Max._ But that would be later. For now, he contented himself to the bright smile that flooded her features when he kissed her forehead, and the careful cuddling that followed. They had earned their brief respite, and Alec was looking forward to some sleep, and Max. And yes, in that order. War is a fucked up thing.  
                With a mental head shake, he allowed Max to continue to fuss over him, while leading him down to the room she had prepared for the two of them.  _If I’m ever going to deserve this amazing woman, I better make sure Wesker never walks out of Raccoon City again_


	15. Chapter 15

                The wind swirled ominously, catching bits of paper and debris only to scatter them faint centimeters away. Normally, such a sound would be lost amidst the cars, people and animals going about their daily business.  Normally it wouldn’t be so  _fucking_  annoying.  Alec let his head drop to the desk in front of him, cursing the apparent attention deficit disorder that had been bred into nearly all of the X5s. Every little sound was making him jump; he doubted there was ever a time he was more on edge.  
                “Wind again?”  
                Alec didn’t bother to lift his head off the desk. “I can’t fucking concentrate.”  
                The chair beside him scratched gently against the floor as it was pulled out, and then creaked as Felix dropped himself into it. Alec scowled at the wood and leather contraption. “Dude, you’re overly sensitive right now. You need to relax.” A worried expression flickered across his older brother’s face. “I mean, you haven’t been with Max since we got here—”  
                “Bull shit!” Alec interrupted, despite the fact he knew Felix was right. “I’ve been with her plenty!”  
                Felix shot him a withering look. “Your scent hasn’t been strong on her in days. What, having sex through a body condom? Wasn’t that Wheel’s schtick?”   
                He opened his mouth, but let it close after a long moment. “Yeah, ok. But having sex  _will not_  help.” He knew he sounded petulant, but the last time… it had been a fiasco. Revealing in the fact Alec had just survived what should have been an instant kill, Max had patience enough to let him catch a night’s sleep before starting the seduction. He should have realized something was up then; he  _always_  initiated it. But it was awesome, and going great.  And then he heard the mooing on the wind.  
 _Flan in a cupboard would be an accurate description,_  Alec thought a little bitterly. Since they lost Base Camp, he couldn’t shut down his senses; the fact it was interrupting his sex life was yet another thing wrong in his fucked up life. Felix was still watching him carefully, which slightly irked Alec. “What?”  
                His brother shrugged. “I’ve got ear plugs.”  
                Alec stared at him for a long moment, a look of complete  _Buh?_  nearly breaking Felix’s resolve to present the solution without laughing. “No!” Alec squeaked, as he stood. “Ok, stop meddling in my sex life now.”  
                “If I don’t, you’re going to get us all dead, and you know that. I’ve never seen you so strung out.” Felix pulled a joint out of his vest and lit it, inhaling deeply before passing it to Alec. His brother didn’t take it. “You’re acting like a paranoid schizophrenic.” Felix finished, exhaling.  
                Alec snatched the joint out of his hand, scowling. “Fuck you, I’m  _nothing_  like 493!” He angrily took a hit, passing it back to Felix and not being too careful about not letting the cherry catch his brother’s hand. “You anything like 495?”  
                Felix’s lip curled for the briefest instant before he caught control of his expression. “There’s only me in my head, you mother fucker, and you know it. If you weren’t freaking at every noise, I wouldn’t be comparing you to your fucked twin.”  
                He was right, Alec wasn’t being completely fair, but the thought didn’t entirely motivate him to apologize. “How’s Keegan?” Alec decided a topic change would probably be more prudent then continuing the sanity argument.  
                And thankfully, Felix seemed to agree. “She’s running a fever, and still coughing up blood…that’s steaming.” He sighed, and looked at the floor. “It’s like she’s burning from the inside, but we have nothing to test it.”   
                “I wish we had Clinic.” For a fraction of a second, Alec thought Felix was going to break down; but his clone gave himself a small shake, and when he met Alec’s eyes again, his resolve was iron again.  
                “I’d rather skin her alive for fucking with our heads then have her  _touch_  Keegan.” Felix announced, settling back into the chair. “But I  _am_  curious as to where she got off to. She was out of our sight for all of a minute, if that.” Felix looked back at Alec, but his younger clone was staring into space, seemingly lost in thought. “Ok, you keep that big brain of yours in overtime.” He took a one last pull on the joint before setting it down on a pen on the desk. “Just take a break later, ok?” Alec didn’t respond as Felix left the room, but he hadn’t really expected an answer.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
                “How is he?” Max was off her chair before Felix had even rounded the corner.  His exasperation must have shown on his face, because she took a step back. In that small moment, Felix really looked at Max. She had changed in barely a week. It was small, but she had clearly soldiered up, as it were. The fact she respected and treated him as a Commanding Officer was proof, and he found himself feeling oddly proud of the President of their nation.  
                “He’s so concerned with protecting you he’s paranoid. I doubt it’s what your unit-mate did.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “You’re right to worry, but he’s…” There weren’t any words, honestly, for what Alec was, so Felix ended in a shrug, trusting Max would understand. She nodded, and Felix felt himself smile. “You’ve come a long way, Peanut. I think I should be recommending you for promotion…seeing as you’re kinda  _involved_  with the Unit Commander.” He flashed her a wink.  
                The smile that spread over her features nearly melted him in a way he hadn’t experienced since little Wednesday... “Puh, as if I’d need a recommendation.” She sassed, completely at odds with her expression.  
                Felix clasped her on the shoulder. “Take it easy on him. Oh, and if you need me, I’ll be—”  
                “With Keegan, yeah.” She waved him off. “I’ll wait here.” He grinned at her as she settled back onto the couch, pulling a file on Umbrella towards her. The least she could do was try to get a leg up on what they might face.  
               

                                                                                                ***  
  
                It was four hours before Alec opened the door to the room he had declared his office. Four hours, and Max was not entirely proud to admit that she had spent two of them passed out amid grotesque images and descriptions of experiments that should have stayed a theory.  But she was glad she was there, as the second Alec spotted her, he blurred over, sweeping her up into a kiss that was so passionate, she half thought she could die happy right then.  And then he pulled back, and looked straight into her eyes. “I want to go to the Arklay Mansion.”  
                Her blood froze. That mansion was where the initial outbreak had occurred, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, it had been intentional. Hundreds of scientists and general laborers had died in the apparent ‘accident’ that had launched an investigation by Raccoon City’s Special Tactics and Rescue Squad over two decades previous. While  _this_  outbreak had been from the Hive Facility located directly under Raccoon City, the Mansion had some even fouler creatures, experiments that never made it to practical application,  that had never been eliminated. It was the secondary mutations, she had learned, that were the most dangerous. Though Alec had tried to explain the concept, it wasn’t until she read the process in black and white that it truly horrified her. If enough damage is taken, the infection causes random mutations to heal and deal with the threat. This process was so advanced, some of the Weapons Grade BOWs had been documented to develop mutations such as sword limbs.  
                “Alec…” She whispered, her voice breaking, “That’s suicide. Have you  _read_  what they kept there? What they  _did_  there?”  
                His green eyes caught the dying light in a way that was becoming horrifically familiar; vaguely, she wondered if her own eyes reflected like his. “It’s the only logical location for Wesker to be using as a base. It still has its security functions, and, unlike the hive, Felix didn’t nuke it.” He tried to smile, but it came off more as a whimper. “I can’t make a life for us if I don’t take out yet another person who wants us dead.”  
                His words registered, but she didn’t agree with them; couldn’t agree with them. “We could run!”  
                It was almost as if he had been expecting that answer from her. “And what about Felix and Keegan? Or Devon and Keema, or Misha? Not to mention we only have Wesker's _word_  that the experiment with the transgenics are over.” He sighed. “I wish I could just snap my fingers, have this resolved and take you away from here, but that’s not how this works.”  
                Her hand came up to his cheek, softly brushing the five-o’clock shadow that had been growing steadily darker as the days had progressed. “Then I’ll just have to come with you, and make sure you come home.” Her voice was stronger then what she felt, but she knew Alec could tell. And it was the thought that mattered anyway.  
                “I love you too, Maxie.” Alec breathed into her ear, and she started, looking comically wide-eyed. Because in that moment, she had just realized, it was completely, and honestly, true.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                “Report.” Alec snapped at he walked into the only other occupied room in the entire hotel.  Sitting by Misha’s bedside, Keema suddenly leapt to her feet, snapping a salute. When she caught sight of Felix and Devon’s amused expressions, she sat back down, scowling.  Even Alec found himself chuckling. “Well?”  
                “I’m good to go, even though Keema doesn’t think so.” Misha griped. “I can walk and run. Blurring’s a little hard, but you’ll need all the help you can get, right?”  Both Keema and Devon scowled at him, but neither spoke. Alec appreciated the fact they understood the gravity of the situation.  
                “And Keegan?”  
                “I’m fine.” She announced, shoving the blankets off her feet and trying to maneuver past Felix to get off the bed. “Seriously, I was just flaming a bit too much. It’s good, done, over.” Her statement was amusingly proven false when her sheets caught fire, and only Felix’s patient hand kept the entire bed from going up. “Oh, fuck me.”  
                “I’m pretty sure she’s in the accept or reject stage.” Felix said, glancing at a hastily scribbled notebook entry. “Alice said that when the infection levels get high enough, the body can be over loaded. If that happens, she turns like Frankie and Dust. If not, she’s like Alice…and you, I should say.”  
                Alec shifted uncomfortably. “You can keep her flames down enough to fight?”  
                Felix looked alarmed, despite Keegan’s nod of affirmation. “Alec, no.”  
                “If we leave her here, she’ll be just as threatened.” Alec pointed out, hating that he had to do this. “And we need the man-power.”  
                With a sidelong glance at his mate, Felix stood, brushing shoulders with Alec. “I will never forgive you if she dies.”  
                Alec nodded slightly. “Understood.” He looked back around the makeshift medical bay, and frowned. “Saving this country, fuck, the  _world_  has to be our first priority here, people.”       
                “It is,” Keema announced, “but we don’t want to lose any more of us.”  
                “I don’t think it’s in our hands anymore.” He finished, gravely. No one spoke because he was dead right.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                If she was completely honest, Max had no idea why Alec or Felix was letting Keegan walk out of that makeshift med bay. For that matter, she couldn’t fathom the logic of letting Misha walk out either. But she held her tongue. This was something she was just going to have to accept; being injured didn’t take you out of the game.  
                Beside her, Alec suddenly froze, the strangest expression on his face. Just barely, she could make out something on the wind; it sounded like “assskkk”. A tremor rocked their hotel hiding place. And then the noise came again:        “ _Mmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…_ ”.  
                Recognition struck her harder than any of the blows she had taken previously. “That’s Logan.”  
                On Alec’s other side, Felix, too, froze. “Uh, fuck.”  
                The entire building rocked on it’s foundations, sending everyone to the floor under a rain of plaster from the ceiling. “ _MMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!_ ”  
                “This guy takes obsession to a whole new level.” Alec snapped, as he struggled to his feet, more tremors rocking the building. He dashed to the window, staring down, and his face went pale. Despite Felix’s attempt to hold her back, Max bolted forward, and shoved Alec slightly out of the way to get a view of the creature below.  
                If she hadn’t known who it had been, she would have never recognized it now. Tentacles were pounding against the walls, stemming from a mass of muscle and skin, a huge eye bursting from it’s back and it’s face pulled tight, skin stretched. It was horrible, disgusting. Logan didn’t deserve this.  But despite her horror, the tentacles came again, this time crumbling bits of wall with their attack. “Alec, please tell me we can put him out of his misery.”  
                He refused to look at her. “He’s a stage three Nemesis, Max. Unless you have a rocket launcher handy…”  
                Behind him, Felix cleared his throat. “Uh, I may have one.”  
                Max quickly glanced back at Alec, catching the slight smirk that caught his lips as she was sure he was imagining shooting Logan with a rocket launcher. Part of her recoiled from the fact Alec hated the man so much; but the majority of her melted at the idea that he had resented the human so much for having  _her_. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling that she wasn’t entirely familiar with.  
                And then, out of nowhere, a phone rang.  Max jumped, the sound had become foreign in the week she had been out here, and watched curiously as Alec withdrew a beaten, military grade cellular phone from his gear belt. The look on his face went from bad to worse as he listened to whomever was on the other line. With a sharp, “Got it,” he hung up, and turned his attention back to what used to be Logan, wailing against the walls.  
                Felix spoke first. “What did Alice want?”  
                “An Umbrella scientist contacted her while she was moving survivors. Umbrella put a perimeter around the entire city, armed guards, land mines, the works.” He looked around at everyone gathered. “They’re sanitizing the site at dawn.”  
                It was dead silent for a long moment, then:  
                “Sanitized?”  
                “What yield?”  
                “They waited till  _NOW_?”  
                “What the hell is sanitized?!”  
                Alec held his hand up, and everyone fell silent. “Nuke. Four kiloton yield. And they probably waited to see how Projects Chimera, Alice and Nemesis turned out.” His expression was dour. “Alice is getting her survivors to a helicopter pick up, but we’re not that lucky.” He glanced back out at the creature still pounding the walls.  
                “ _MMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!_ ”  
                “Yeah, let’s move it.” With a shrug, Alec pulled his pistol and fired at Logan, his expression not moving even when the creature roared at him. “You’re lucky being sanitized is the more humane option.” He snarled.  
                Max put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on. We’ve got some major ground to cover if we’re going to make it to the mansion before the explosion.”  
                In near silence, the seven remaining members of the unit assigned to Raccoon City crept from the hotel, Devon providing most of Misha’s movement. The only sound was the whoosh and swish of Keegan’s repeating flare-ups and Felix’s attempts to put them out.  Behind her, she could still hear Logan pounding against the walls, his cries becoming more and more broken. It scared her, the extent of his mutation and the possibility Keegan and Alec could be going the same way.  “Max.” She looked up, surprised that Alec had spoken. He was regarding her with a look that she honestly couldn’t read. “Tighten it up.” He shifted his gaze, his eyes constantly scanning. “I don’t want you lagging…” He slowed down his speech, glancing around with more purpose. “Felix! I don’t hear him, where is he?”  
                That’s when Max noticed how silent it had become.  
                Felix dropped his hold on Keegan, and mimicked Alec’s frantic searching. “Dust was the one with the epic hearing, Alec, not me. And if you’re wondering if I can smell him, no. There’s too many other things out there blocking his scent.” It was then that Keema let out a cry, and their attention was drawn ahead of them. Logan was standing in their path, his entire hulking mass rising and falling with his labored breathing. The grotesque eye sprouting from his back whirled ferociously, until it focused on Max with a sharp intensity. And then Logan roared.  
                “Figured I’d save you the trouble.”  It was all Alec could do to keep Felix from charging at Wesker, who stepped from behind the hulking Logan with the air of a big reveal. Max grabbed a hold of his BDUs as well, surprised with the sheer strength Felix was using to try to get at him. And Wesker just laughed at him. “I see you managed to save your mate. Maybe I didn’t give you enough credit.”  
                Keegan shrunk behind Felix and grabbed a hold of his belt. Instantly, Felix stopped fighting and wrested his arm out of Alec’s grasp, putting it behind him to protect Keegan. The snarl on his face only intensified.  Wesker laughed even harder. And then, he looked over at what was left of Logan. “Get her.”  
                “ _MMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!_ ” Logan lunged forward, his footsteps shaking and cracking the concrete as he moved towards them.  
                “Alec!” Max spun to see Misha throwing a large, cylindrical object to Alec, who caught it, throwing it over one shoulder and dropping to one knee. “Two rounds!”  
                “Got it! Clear!” Alec yelled, using his one free hand to shove Max out of the blast area. He held his ground as Logan attempted to change direction to follow Max, but Logan had too much mass, and kept barreling straight ahead. Alec bared his teeth in a snarl, and fired, getting himself knocked onto his ass with the force of the rocket. Max barely had time to register that  _Alec_  was  _shooting Logan_ , when she felt a burning hand yank her down. The gore that spread from the blast splattered everyone, and she glanced up to see Wesker miraculously clean, and Logan to be nothing more than a red stain on the pavement. An empty feeling swelled in her chest, and she felt her center of gravity shift dangerously.  
                “We lost Max!” Keegan yelled, and Alec fought to get to his feet, throwing the launcher aside.  
                He took his eyes off Wesker for barely a second, almost relieved when he realized Max had just fainted. “Get her off to the sid—urk!” He was yanked upwards by his throat, hands struggling against the slippery tentacle that had wrapped itself around him. Wesker’s laughter rang in his ears, even as he heard Keema and Misha get grabbed. There was a burst of heat from below him, and he knew Keegan would be in peril in a short time—and he couldn’t  _do_  anything; his vision was already graying. While he was usually quite proud of his ability to hold his breath for seven minutes, he had to be  _ready_  for it; he hadn’t even felt the tentacle encircle him.  
                And then he felt the coldest he had ever been in his life. Unconsciousness threatened to overtake him. “Let her  _go_!” Felix roared, and suddenly Alec could  _breathe_. He looked up to see Felix launching himself at Wesker, shattering ice covered tentacles with hands that were nothing but clear crystal. The force of his blows was knocking Wesker back, and causing the monster to actually pause in his blows.  Alec took the respite to catch his breath, and massage his bruising throat before he launched himself at Wesker, stepping over the broken body of Misha as he did so. The combined force of the clones was enough to knock Wesker back onto his ass.  
                And Wesker didn’t like it. He snarled, and shot even more tentacles in their direction. Alec grabbed Devon as he ran passed, throwing him to the ground as the appendages shot over their heads. Keema let out a shriek, and then fell eerily silent—Alec was sure she had not dodged the attack.  Warm blood rained down on them, and Devon bucked Alec off, tears streaming down his face as he lunged at Wesker. Alec winced, hearing the impact of the claw-tipped tentacles against Devon’s torso, only Devon didn’t stay standing.  
                Somewhere to the side, Max had started screaming. It was too much, there was too much going on. His mind was swirling, emotions were pushing and pulling him in every which way—  
                “Alec! Get Max beyond the perimeter!” Felix yelled, giving his younger brother a shove in the general direction of out. The touch left the fabric of Alec’s shirt frozen. “We’re not gonna win here!” There were no words that could explain what Alec knew then. But as he watched Felix taunt Wesker, saw Keegan join her mate in the deadly game of escape and evade, he knew that  _this_ , right here, was what he was made for.  
                Behind him, he heard Felix leading Wesker away, towards the underground path to the mansion. He felt hands on his belt, and caught a glimpse of Keegan bolting back to Felix, the explosives and grenades Alec had been carrying in her hands. It was settled, they were doing it and not giving him a choice.  
                He dodged towards Max, scooping her into his arms when she refused to budge, and he  _ran_.  


                                                                                                ***  
  
                “I’m going back!” Alec sighed, taking a swig from his canteen and brushing some extraneous dirt off his forehead. He was practically black from the soot in the air—Umbrella’s troops had set fires to keep the infected contained behind the walls. After another five minutes of watching Max attempt to scramble up the pit he had dropped them in, he gave up, and threw the canteen at her. “Ow!”  
                “You’re not getting out that way.” He said, standing. “We’re securing the egress. Felix is leading Wesker back to the mansion. He’s going to blow them up.” Alec gave another sigh, and then stood to examine the collapsed road in front of them. “Now, are you going to help me get them out?”  
                It took her another minute to decide that, yes, an escape route would be quite beneficial before she reluctantly left her position at the far wall and joined him. “I don’t like the idea of Felix and Keegan trying to take him on, even to set him up.” She swallowed hard. “I saw what he did to Keema…and Misha…and…” She looked away. “It’s another suicide mission.”  
                Alec grunted, pulling a particularly large rock from the bottom of the pile, and watching the debris fall aside, having removed the lynch pin in the formation. “Maybe it’s for the best.” He muttered.  
                Max froze, staring at him. “You better be joking.”  
                “Easy. Just thinking of infection levels.” But he knew she had seen through it. Even as she joined him in removing the rubble, he could feel her eyes on him. It made him uneasy…but he had to do it.  One day she’d understand. And maybe, she’d even forgive him.  
  
                                                                                                ***  
  
                Hours later, they had reached the wall through a collapsed water drainage pipe. Alec’s radio hadn’t sounded, and Max secretly thought that he had shut it off, though she said nothing. She even held her tongue as he slowed down in his efforts, seemingly fighting with himself over some decision that was eating him up inside.  “You make me feel like you’re trying to figure out how to say goodbye.” She had remarked.  
                “Just worried about Felix and Keegan.” He had responded with a tight smile. “I’m half certain they’re going to blow themselves up.”  But it was the last thing he had said, and that was nearly two hours ago.  
                Max pushed the last of the debris aside and grinned into the lightening sky. “We made it! We—” The sound of the steel grate slamming shut behind her cut her off. Frantically, she spun, catching only the eerie reflection of Alec’s inhuman eyes. “Alec, come on!” Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she had known this was coming.  
                “You have the cure, Maxie.” Alec said, his hand resting on the cold metal. “We can’t risk our exposure.” He tilted his head up, looking her straight in the eyes. “I love you, Maxie,” He said over her protests, “But don’t force me to choose between saving lives and saving my soul; at least here we can make a difference until the infection takes control.”  
                “But my blood!” She screamed, tugging on the metal.  
                He caught her hands, and gently—but forcefully—pulled them off the grate. “It didn't cure  _me_ and we still don't know what  _I'll_ turn into _._  Go, Max.” He locked eyes with her, willing her to see the truth. “I’ve always belonged to Umbrella.”          He knew at her head shake that she didn’t understand, but Alec was already turning away, he couldn’t stay, couldn’t let her die. “Get out of here before the nuke hits. You’re our one hope that this fiasco isn’t in vain.” He said, looking over his shoulder.  
                The distant sound of helicopters reached her ears. She knew how little time they had left. “Alec, please.”  
                He grabbed her shirt through the bars, and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips, despite the cold metal between them. “Go save the world, Maxie. I’ll be alright; I’m always alright.” With his free hand, he pushed the dog tags he had gathered from his unit into hers; they needed a funeral, a proper send off. When she glanced down at them, he gave her a little shove away from the grate. “Don’t make me mourn you too.”  
                It was all she could do to accept that this was bigger than them, bigger than even the transgenics… It had cost so many their lives, and would cost more…“I love you.” She whispered, hurrying through the rubble as the helicopters came closer. She glanced back at one point, but Alec was gone. With one hand, she grasped his dog-tags; the rest of the unit’s she slid into her pack, not wanting to remember, and grieve.  
                Ten minutes later, she was sitting on the ledge of the closest of the Arklay mountains, watching a nuclear missile fly with deadly accuracy towards the center of Raccoon City. Behind her, the mansion exploded with a bright white and blue flash. But Max was averting her eyes from the disaster, protecting herself from blindness, so she did not witness the exact moment of detonation. Not until the shock wave hit did she uncover her eyes.  
                Raccoon City was gone. The mansion was gone. Felix and Keegan were gone.  _Alec_  was go—  
                Tears threatening to overrun her eyes, she quickly stood and began the long trek to the rendezvous point. There were survivors who needed a cure. She was a soldier, and she had a duty.


	16. Chapter 16

_Alec…Alec…_ The voice tickled the edge of his senses, calling him. He wanted to go back to sleep, it was comfortable, safe…  _Alec…Alec, wake up!_ The little girl’s voice startled him awake, his eyes snapping open and his body jerking—he was suspended in some sort of liquid. Panic struck him as he shifted from the seat keeping him in the fetal position, upsetting wires and sensors that had been attached to his naked form. He tugged at the mask covering his mouth and nose, trying to breathe on his own.  
                Muffled through the liquid, he heard another voice. “Are you alright?” His eyes focused on the man in a white coat, and he placed his hands on the glass, pulling some wires out. “Can you understand me?” He knew he had to answer, but there were tubes in his mouth, and water all around him. He nodded. “Good.”  
                The world suddenly shifted, and cold air replaced warm water, and he coughed as the breathing tube was removed. Gently, he was pulled to his feet, a towel draped over his shoulders. Someone was making noises, another was tugging his eyes open, shining a light that made him wince away. He tugged himself away from the hands, confused, disoriented. The gentle assurances he was alright only heightened his fear. He moved, jerkily, trying to avoid the hands.  
                One of the men held up a card with vertical lines in varying thicknesses. “Do you know what this is?”  
                He blinked. No, he didn’t.  
                The doctor was staring at him patiently. “This is you.  Your designation.”  
                The word seemed familiar, but when he attempted to repeat it, all that he managed was a weak, “De…des…”  
                “Try again.” More confused blinking. The doctor sighed. “Your designation, Project 494?”  
                “494?” He tested the words. They came easier than anything else had; his tongue was able to wrap around the words with a habit that spoke of years repeating them. A memory flashed in front of his eyes.  
                The doctor dismissed the attempt. “I want him under constant observation for the next twenty-four hours. If his genetics are stable, we’ll wake the others…”  
                The dull voice faded to the background. “X5-494.” He glanced around the lab, everything was sparking memories. But then his eyes lighted upon several more tanks…there was a girl in water that looked like it was boiling, another one with a man who looked eerily like him… It was like looking in a color-distorted mirror, and it triggered something deep in his mind. “My designation.” A monitor beeped. He leaned against the wall, surrendering himself to the onslaught of images.   _Drills—surgery—pain—sir-yes-sir—gunfire—explosions—hot—pain—freedom—Max—fighting—dead-coming-back-to-life—Max—naked, sweaty Max telling him she loved him—fighting—blood—death—pain, Pain, PAIN—_  The monitors were screaming, the techs trying to interrupt the doctor, to warn him that the vitals of the subject were leaping. The doctor who had spoken to him was heading back, looking slightly alarmed.  
 _Alec! Alec!_  
                And Alec snapped his focus back to the lead doctor. “My  _designation_  is X5-494. But  _I prefer_  Alec.”  There was a moment where everyone was stunned to complete silence, and then the doctor made to hit the alarm, but Alec vanished, reappearing in front of him, easily breaking his wrist.   
                The doctor screamed.  “Security!” He cried, looking panic stricken.  
                Alec smirked, “Now,” He said, the doctor cringing away from the predatory grin spread across his face. “Are we going to have to do this the hard way, or the fun way?”  
                Five minutes later, alarms were blaring all over the building, but no one was there to respond. And three shadows vanished into the night.

**Fin**


End file.
